


Mirage

by Taikanaakka



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Daggerfall, Daggerfall Covenant, Dark Anchor, F/M, Gen, Healers, Heatwave, High Rock, Mages Guild, Nightshade, Summer, Tamriel, Thunder and Lightning, Thunderstorms, Wayrest, change, dolmen, planemeld, wind keep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 12:23:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 86,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15339804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taikanaakka/pseuds/Taikanaakka
Summary: This story takes place in High Rock, in Second Era, around 570's and 580's. Linnea's - my OC's - life changes dramatically on a scorching day of summer, when a thunderstorm hits Wind Keep, her home village close to Wayrest, the capital city of Stormhaven.





	1. Mirage - Prologue

It was a hot and sunny day of summer in Wind Keep, a little village north of Wayrest in High Rock. The heat had been unrelenting for over a week. It was probably the last heatwave of the summer, since it was already the end of Last Seed and autumn would be coming soon. The signs of summer's end were strongly visible in nature; many flowers had already bloomed, the crops were already partially ripened and the apples of the apple trees that grew in the village, had gotten a nice shade of red. Nights were sweltering due to the heatwave but they were not full of light anymore; stars could be seen in the night sky where Masser and Secunda dominated again. Birds were silent, except for the caws of crows, that playfully flew in the sky, occasionally stopping their play to rest atop a rickety wooden fence or to take a delicious bite of a nearby apple.  
  
The villagers had been enjoying the exotic temperatures, even though it made working harder and the gardens needed to be watered more often because of the scorching weather. The nearby river that streamed across the village was very warm, it was such a pleasure to swim in and young lovers enjoyed their secret walks to the Cumberland falls during the humid dark nights, as a gentle breeze carried the scent of growing herbs in the small gardens.  
  
The innkeeper of Wind Keep was no sorcerer but she knew a basic frostbite spell which proved a splended way to keep the beverages and groceries cool; she had made a good profit lately from selling cold mead to the thirsty villagers who liked to drink it after a sweaty day of working. Also strangers, maybe some sort of mages by the looks of their robes and gear, who recently had established their camp in the ancient Ayleid ruins near the village, had occasionally visited the inn. They bought food, drink and other everyday supplies there, making the profit of that summer exceptionally good for the innkeeper. The villagers had thought them to be some sort of archaeologists when they had started to hear hammering, digging and loud voices coming from the ruins, where the strangers had settled. "Strange thing is that Linnea told me yesterday that she saw 'em building somethin' onto the ruins when she was gathering alchemy ingredients there. I always presumed those scholar guys would dig old ruins instead of building new things onto 'em. Oh, but it's not our problem, we don't need those ruins for anything and they bring good trade for my inn and have never been any trouble here. Best thing is to leave them be," the innkeeper thought to herself, while she served a meal for a Covenant guard.  
  
Nothing lasts forever and the unusually hot sunny period had to end, like all heatwaves do, and this one met its end by the thunderstorm. The dark clouds were already approaching from the sea - Iliac Bay to the south of the village - where the rain and thunder always came from. The sun was still shining in the bright sky when the first rumbles of thunder were heard from the distance. "The warm weather was nice in its own way while it lasted" a farmer of Wind Keep thought when he noticed the appearance of thunderclouds. "But thunder is a good thing too, as it brings rain to my plants," he thought while gathering his livestock and began shooing them towards their shelter, to keep them safe from the obviously coming storm. The dark clouds were travelling fast and straight towards the village. Judging by the thunder and lightning, it seemed to be a massive thunderstorm. So, the villagers left their work and started to gather at the inn where they found shelter, and the company of others helped to ease the unpleasant feeling that the thunderstorms awoke in them. Also the strangers at the ruins appeared to have left their work and have searched for shelter from the storm - unless they had already finished what they had been doing there - since the noise of hammering and digging had ceased a good while earlier.  
  
The thunderstorm was now directly above the village - the hailstones hammered the vegetation in the plantations into the dirt with lightning and loud thundering scaring the livestock and many people alike. Everyone had gathered into the inn waiting for the storm to pass - everyone except Linnea. The novice alchemist of the village had been gathering alchemy ingredients and wild herbs nearby when the storm broke. "The Poor fool, always so lost in her thoughts and her alchemy work, now she's gotta be soaking wet and frightened out there," the innkeeper thought while serving a bowl of vegetable soup to a customer.  
  
Indeed, Linnea was soaking wet and very, very frightened. She had just found a good place to gather dragonthorns and corn flowers near the ruins when one of the strangers had snuck up behind her and taken her captive. He had dragged her to the strange monument they had been building onto the ruins. The other strangers had gathered in front of her and the monument and started a dark ritual of some kind. The last thing she heard before her old life ended, were the words: " ..in the name of Molag Bal, we sacrifice this innocent...", then she was lifted up into the sky where she lost her consciousness while entering Coldharbor.  
  
The villagers heard a strange noice, it started a bit like a thunder but it continued more like some kind of roaring and then there was a large 'crashing sound'. The bravest ones went outside from the inn to take a look at where the sounds had come from. They could see something very strange and extremely terrible-looking: it resembled a giant anchor that had fallen out of the sky down to the ruins, to the place where the strangers had been working. The thunderstorm was still overhead, now spinning around the anchor-like formation like a cyclone. A faint smell of sulphur and brimstone was present in the air... and in the section of the sky where the anchor had appeared was a tear that glowed ominously!  
  
During that unforgettable day things had changed in many ways and on many levels. The heatwave gave way to a rainy and cold weather and autumn slowly started to replace summer. The dark anchor, Dolmen, tore a veil to the serene little village, and Linnea, one of its residents was taken to Coldharbor; the villagers would believe that she had gotten killed during the storm but her corpse would never be found. Linnea would later become known as Vestige, as an old man referred to as 'Prophet' would call her, for she would in time manage to escape Coldharbor and return to Tamriel but her soul would remain in Coldharbor, owned by Molag Bal himself.


	2. Dreams and Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea wakes up in an unfamiliar cottage somewhere in High Rock and starts to uncover where she is and what has happened to her.

Linnea, a young Breton woman (Bretons age slower than other races of men in Tamriel) regained her consciousness alone in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by silence. She opened her eyes and observed that she was in a small cottage, furnished in a Breton style. Slowly, after a heavy bout of coughing, she sat up. Despite the weakness of her body and dizziness in her head, she reached out for a piece of bread and a cup of black coffee on a nearby table. It did not bother her that the bread was slightly stale and the coffee was cold and bitter as she was famished; it felt like she hadn't eaten or drank anything for a long time.

When she had finished her crude meal, she turned her attention to her long, red hair, that was both tangled and wet, and to the strange soaking wet ragged clothes she was dressed in. She looked down at her hands, they seemed different in an unexplainable way, in the same obscure way, her body felt strange to her; she noticed her pretty new wedding ring was gone!  
  
Linnea slowly started to become accustomed to her surrounding and to herself; she increasing became aware of how chilly the cottage was, that added to her wet hair and clothes, left her shivering. Fortunately, she noticed an empty fireplace and a pile of firewood. She set about placing the chopped wood in the fireplace and instinctively cast an incineration spell which sparked a fire into life.

When she realised what she had done, she became even more confused. The sense that her body had changed in some mysterious way, became more compelling. Despite being Breton, therefore having affinity to magic, she had never cast a fire spell without some effort; restorative spells had always been much easier for her to cast. The log fire began to warm the small cottage but due to the anxiety that started to fill her mind, she still felt cold and shivered more than before. In this strange place, she had nothing familiar with her except her memories and a dream that felt very true.   
  
In her dream, she had woken up in a plane of Oblivion as a phantom figure, and an ethereal projection of an old man had told her that she had ended up in Coldharbor, the realm of the Daedric Prince of Domination - Molag Bal. Then she had aimlessly started to run in a tunnel, desperately defending herself against daedric creatures, until she had bumped into an extremely tall, fair-haired Nord woman, accompanied by a raggedy insane-looking old man, who wore an iron pot for a hat. They helped her fight off the daedra, and the woman proceeded to rescue the man, whose projection Linnea had seen earlier, by sacrificing herself and taking the old man's place, thus allowing him to escape his prison in Coldharbor. This old man, was known as Prophet, as his true name had been forgotten, even by himself or so he claimed. Together they had managed to escape and survive, even the taunting from a projection of Molag Bal himself, hadn't managed to hinder them. Finally, the Prophet had restored her physical form and provided a crossing to Tamriel but her dream ended just before her flight from Coldharbor began.  
  
Unlike this dream of hers, her last memories felt very distant. She recalled gathering alchemy ingredients and wild herbs in the forest; she could remember the scent of the fresh chamomile and juniper branches, the weight of her basket and even the stains in her newly-washed white apron. What had happened to her when she was just about to gather some dragonthorns and corn flowers was extremely terrible, and she did not remember much of it. She recalled having been taken captive by a stranger and being part of an unholy ritual, lightning strikes, intense darkness and a feeling of being lifted up to the skies.  
  
"Since I woke up here, alive, I must have survived the attack of the strangers, possibly someone rescued me from those cultists' hands in time and took me into their home. Most likely it was someone who lives near Wind Keep and my home" Linnea thought, as she tried to drive the anxiety from her mind and figure out what had happened to her and where she was, while adding some more firewood to build a roaring fire and get the cottage warmer. She felt like she may have a fever. She would have fancied taking off her rags to dry them closer to the fire but she feared that the owner of the house would show up at any time and catch sight of her totally exposed if she had done that. In any case she intended to leave that place and return home as soon as she could.   
  
A while later she turned around and saw someone at the door: it was the Prophet from her dream, or rather a projection of him. "Fever, dehydration and the traumatic experiences seem to give me hallucinations" Linnea thought, as the Prophet greeted her. He saw the suspicious look on the young Breton's face and started to explain the situation. "Yes, I am real... or as real as a magical projection can be" he began with. "You seem to have woken up already, Vestige. You fell into the sea when returning to Tamriel, and Captain Kaleen rescued you from there. There was little sign of life in you but the Captain wanted to give you a chance nevertheless" he said.

"So if you're real, it wasn't merely a dream then... Coldharbor and everything in it was real, and I really am dead now?" Linnea questioned morbidly, speaking in part to herself. "No, not totally dead; you are mostly alive, yes, but your Soul is in Coldharbor and therefore I call you Vestige" the old man explained to her in a friendly manner but a hint of pity could be detected in his voice. "I'll tell you more when the time is right. Now I must go; I suggest you find captain Kaleen, the one who saved your life. She is here in Daggerfall, most likely you could find her at the docks. I expect she could use some help" the Prophet continued, and before Linnea could ask anything he was gone!  
  
By the fact that she had a cough, fever and apparently had been drowning, Linnea, being an aspiring alchemist and healer, deduced that she had an aspiration pneumonia, a condition caused by the seawater which had gotten into her lungs, which could potentially be fatal. Since there were no potions for restoring health, and she did not know if she could get help from another healer, she knew that her best chance would be to try to cast a restoration spell. She was not a fully trained healer yet but she gathered all of her strength and magicka, pressed her hand firmly against her chest, took a deep breath and started to channel healing through her palm. A faint golden glow was visible as she used magic to repair the damage and eradicate the phlegm from her lungs. After a few minutes her fever was gone, and it was easier to breathe again.  She was feeling healthy again and very satisfied by the fact that she was actually able to heal herself with her own spell. Even a frail sign of hope was vital for her mental health now and kept her being able to think and act somewhat rationally.  
  
Linnea carefully opened the door and noticed that it was dark outside. The Prophet had told her that she was in Daggerfall; she was quite far from home. So she had no intention of wandering in an unfamiliar place at night; she returned to the bed to spend the night and would go looking for captain Kaleen in the morning. Maybe her saviour could do her another favour and take her with her ship to the city of Wayrest, which is close to Wind Keep, her home village. 


	3. Daggerfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea steps out of the cottage she has woken up in and finds herself in the buzzling city of Daggerfall. She figures out how to gain enough gold to pay for the passage to Wayrest to get back to Wind Keep, her home village near that city; her family and friends must be waiting for her extremely concerned about her sudden disappearance.

The sun was shining high in the bright sky when Linnea got up. She had spent the night awake and fallen asleep just when the dawn broke; unable to sleep she had taken a better look at the cottage she was in and had noticed that there were some useful books on the bookshelves, among which she had managed to find a spell book. Most of the night she had lay on the bed reading this book, as well as practicing the simple restoration spell she knew and had used. The sleepless night had not bothered her, since she had learnt how to enhance the healing spell to be more powerful, quicker to cast and to require less magicka. She was delighted with the new things she had learnt, even though she doubted she would ever have use of her new skills in action, since she was no fighter and had no intention of rushing into any battle, where a swift healing would be required.  
  
When Linnea had gotten up, she combed her long, ruby-red hair, which took a rather long time because her hair was so tangled, and she tied it up with two braids. She felt much better now and so decided that she would leave the little cottage and go looking for that Captain Kaleen or perhaps someone who would know her - oh and for some food, since she was still starving and there was nothing left to eat in the hut. "There is just one problem" Linnea thought as she packed the useful spell book into a rugged sack which she found under the bed, and would now use as a backpack, "I don't have any gold and I doubt I can ask Molag Bal to send me my purse that I lost in Coldharbor!" she laughed sarcastically. She also took the rest of the books with her, hoping to make some gold by selling them to a merchant.  
  
She opened the cabin door and the sunlight briefly blinded her; after the time spent in darkness, her eyes had attuned to the dim lighting, and the harshness of the light made her head ache. The cottage seemed to be located in a central position within the city; the noise and the bustling in the streets was overwhelming after the isolation she had been in. It all made her heart beat like a drum and left her feeling rather dizzy but since she was determined to get back home, she shut the door behind her and started to look around. Soon she noticed that a Redguard woman had been staring at her and greeted her "Hey, you finally got up... I wasn't sure if you'd wake up at all anymore! I'm Mihayya, and you are?" "I'm Linnea. Do you know Captain Kaleen or where she is?" the confused Breton asked. "Yes, I know the captain. She rescued you from the sea, did you know? Anyway, she is in Stros M'Kai and said that she would need help. You should go talk to Gilzir, he's the boatswain. He is a strong-looking, almost bald Redguard. You'll recognize him easily at the docks" Mihayya replied. "In Stros M'Kai?" Linnea asked hesitantly. “The Prophet had told me that the captain would be here in Daggerfall and it seems that the old wise man is not as unerring as I had thought him to be”, she thought. "Yes, in that little island near Hammerfell" Mihayya replied. "I'm afraid I'm not in any shape for travelling that far yet" Linnea said apologetically, "can you tell me, how could I get to Wayrest?" she continued. "Oh, I can understand that very well. The easiest way is to take a boat, many sailors down at the docks might take you there!" the Redguard replied to her. Linnea thanked her and promised that she would remember Captain Kaleen should she ever end up in Stros M'Kai. She even wrote a note to herself, on an empty page in the spell book she was carrying with her. _Find captain Kaleen in Stros M'Kai. A sturdy, bald Redguard man named Gilzir in Daggerfall docks should be able to tell more_.  
  
Suddenly Linnea realised that she was in the middle of the City of Daggerfall wearing these strange, ragged clothes! Her face turned almost the same shade of red as her hair, because she would never have even thought about visiting this great City wearing these kinds of rags! She walked with haste to the side streets, trying not to draw unwanted attention to herself; even though she was not a noble woman, this kind of appearance was highly unacceptable, for the sake of her dignity! As she walked the backstreets trying to figure out how not to be humiliated, she saw the answer above her, hanging on a clothesline. Linnea was no thief but she contemplated that she should not have to suffer anymore humiliation, since she had already contended with so much, too much! She looked around to ensure that nobody saw her and took a simple but pretty pale blue dress from the washing line. As she changed from her rags into the newly acquired dress, she felt relieved; the dress seemed to fit her well, had an elegant scent of rose to it, and it did not look so expensive or unique that the owner would recognize it on her nor miss it greatly. She was just about to leave some gold for the previous owner when she remembered that she had none, and that she was still really hungry. Also, it was very likely that if someone were to take her to Wayrest, they would not do it for free, which would be another major problem!  
  
Linnea thought that the idea she had would be worth a try. She walked to the Rosy Lion Inn, which was located in the Northern part of the city, and located the innkeeper, Gregoire Lafont. When the innkeeper asked how he could help her, she stated that due to the most unfortunate circumstances, she had found herself in an unfamiliar city and had no gold, not even for food - but she had some interesting and useful books to trade, and surely the more sophisticated customers of the innkeeper would appreciate having some to read while staying at his inn. Then she had smiled at the innkeeper as charmingly as she could but it had felt awkward and she was sure she had also blushed while doing so. Linnea was not sure the books really were that interesting so perhaps it was more to do with her attractiveness - or rather her efforts to be attractive - but she was extremely pleased when the innkeeper told her to go to sit at a nearby table and wait for the waiter to bring her some Roast Corn with Grape Preserve and a cup of Jasmine Tea. She thanked the innkeeper, and proceeded to sit down on a comfortable seat at the table that was nearest the fire place. As she sat at the table, she closed her eyes and inhaled the fascinating aroma of the meals that were being consumed by the other patrons, the fresh linen that maids were carrying up to the rooms and the freshly-chopped firewood by the fireplace. The combination of those scents soothed her, as did the sounds of people's voices, and the bard playing his lute, comfort her. That all would have been so perfect, if only she had visited this place with her husband, and under different circumstances; and there was also the matter of paying for her trip to Wayrest that needed to be solved.  
  
After Linnea had finished her delicious meal, the solution to her problem suddenly seemed so obvious. On her way to the inn, she had noticed an announcement about certifications being given to qualified professionals in different fields of work. To acquire that certification in alchemy had been in her previous priorities for quite a while, and she had been waiting for a chance to get to a city where they were given. Now she had a perfect opportunity to show that she was good enough for that certification. If she became a qualified alchemist, finally, she could sell her potions and get enough gold for the trip. Since she had noticed that there seemed to be a war going on in Tamriel, in which High Rock also fought as a part of the Daggerfall Covenant, formed by High Rock itself, Hammerfell and Orsinium, making healing potions would be  most profitable. She had wondered how she had not heard about this war before but maybe it just had not been the hot gossip in her village, since it had not affected their lives in any way. Still, it felt very weird to her, that she had not known a while ago that there was a war going on, and now the Daggerfall Covenant consisted of Bretons, Redguards and Orcs, who were fighting on the same side.  
  
Linnea had always been nervous of the qualification test but as it seemed to be her only option now, she determinedly entered the guildhall of the Mages Guild where the Master alchemist, a Dunmer called Danel Telleno, was standing at his alchemy table. Linnea introduced herself to him and explained that she would need the alchemy certification in order to legally sell her alchemy potions. To enable her to prove her competence in the field of alchemy, the Master alchemist handed her some reagents and solvents and asked her to make a "sip of health", a minor healing potion. Linnea mixed the correct reagents to the proper solvent with ease and as she handed the alchemy bottle to Master Danel, she was astonished just how easy the test had been: she had learned these things required, among the first things she had learnt in alchemy! The Master alchemist inspected the result of her working and nodded approvingly as he handed her the certification with her name written on it. He even praised her that she had prepared the reagents in the way that was generally held as the most effective among the alchemists of Mages Guild, unlike many other novice alchemists that had taken the certification test before her. Therefore Linnea had gathered her courage, explained her situation to the Master alchemist and asked if she could earn some gold by spending the day as the Master's apprentice, to which he had to her surprise agreed.  
  
After the time she had spent as the Master’s apprentice, she had finally gathered enough gold for the trip to Wayrest, and she had also learnt a lot of very useful knowledge concerning alchemy. Linnea bought some basic alchemical reagents and thanked Master Danel for the gold and invaluable lessons he had given to her, as she left. At dusk she walked to the Daggerfall docks and admired the city that had now hushed as its citizens had gone into their homes to spend the evening with their families and loved ones. The lanterns cast their light onto the streets, and torchbugs started to gather around them, obsessed by the lights of the candles in them, while glowing themselves. The silhouettes of the roofs of the houses seemed impressive against the twilight sky, where the first stars had already appeared, and some smoke came from the chimneys, disappearing into the sky. Linnea looked at the lit windows of the houses; they looked so cozy, and as she thought about the happy families spending the evening together in their homes, she felt very lonely. She really hoped that she would be back home soon, where she would see her loved ones.  
  
Linnea had found a boatman who seemed reliable and had promised to take her, for 200 gold, to Wayrest in his little sailboat at once, since he was due to go there anyway. Linnea placed herself on a solid, large bench on the deck and tried to lie-down as comfortably as possible. She had taken some Nightshade with her; the plant was generally considered to be poisonous but in small amounts it would ease any nauseous feelings and have a sedative effect, thus counteracting the possible seasickness, as well as helping her to sleep more easily. The voyage home would not be unpleasant for her, quite the opposite.


	4. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea eventually makes it back home but some things have changed while she was gone.

During her voyage to Wayrest, Linnea had imagined what it would be like to be at home again: her husband, parents, siblings and friends would be sick from worrying about her disappearance. She estimated that a couple of weeks would have passed since she had seen them last. She wondered how much they would know about the traumatic things that had happened to her during that stormy day when she had disappeared. She realised that it was highly unlikely that the others would believe her, if she told them that she had escaped from the realm of Molag Bal, thus ending up in Daggerfall; they would probably just think that she had lost her mind or that Sheogorath may have cursed her with his madness if she told them the actual truth, or what she believed was the truth. Thus, she could not tell anyone about what she had really gone through and she should probably just say that she did not remember a thing and had no idea how she had ended up in Daggerfall.  
  
As Linnea closed her eyes, the unpleasant memories of the recent events came rushing to her mind: the lightning strikes followed by intense darkness and tunnels in Coldharbor full of daedric creatures filled her mind, and the scents of chamomile and brimstone, together with the flashbacks, felt so strong that she was about to throw up - and the swaying of the boat did not help the situation at all. Linnea opened her eyes and came back to reality. She tried to chase the nauseous feeling away by focusing on inhaling the fresh sea air deeply, while taking a petal of nightshade from the plant she had carried with her, putting it into a small amount of water and gently heating the concoction with the simple fire spell she had recently learnt she was able to cast. Then she drank the solution. It would not grant her the dreamless sleep she wished for, rather it would only relieve her nauseous feeling and hopefully eradicate the flashbacks while mildly sedating her; she did not want to make the drink too potent, since a heavy dose could easily kill her.  
  
Linnea started to drift between her dreams and reality, and primarily imagined what her loved ones could be doing now. Her mother would sit by the fireplace and knit woollen clothes for the whole family, and her father would probably be working in the garden. Her husband and her big brother would be patrolling the streets somewhere near Wayrest, since they were both in the Covenant Guard, or they could also be in Wind Keep, enjoying a day off. Maybe her husband was worried sick even now, hoping for her to return, and waiting for her in their cosy little home that they had in the Northern part of the village, just next to the small river that streamed across Wind Keep. And her younger sister would probably be flirting with the son of a nobleman, hoping to get lucky this time and marry a rich husband...the effects of the Nightshade started to combine with her exhaustion, caused by all the stresses she had, and she sank deeper into her dream world, falling into a restless sleep.  
  
Days passed by as the little sailboat sailed along the coasts of the Iliac Bay. They had travelled with haste, only going ashore for short periods of time. As the sun rose in the morning, Linnea saw the towers and walls of the city of Wayrest, and by early afternoon they reached the docks of the city. Linnea thanked the boat master as she left the sailboat; they had not spoken much during the period they had sailed together, as the boat master had seemed to be quite untalkative, and Linnea had not felt very sociable, either.  
  
"Now I'm not very far away from home anymore!" Linnea thought happily as she walked the path leading from the docks to the North - to Wind Keep. "Everything seems just...different somehow now, or maybe it is just because I have never before been so far away from home for such long time" she wondered, as she approached the farm where her family lived. She had moved away from the farm when she had married her husband, and they had built a little house to the Northern side of the village but she often visited her parents and helped them at the plantations.  
  
As Linnea saw the farm, it felt like her heart had stopped, and a sharp pain spread all over her body as the shock filled her mind; the house was in ruins!  The fields had perished, and the whole farm had been destroyed! Unable to comprehend what she had just seen, Linnea just stood frozen, and when she was able to move again, she ran to the ruins, only to find that there was no one there - at least no one alive. Linnea ran along to the village, still unable to understand the situation, as she entered the inn. "What has happened to the farm and everyone in there!?" she breathlessly tried to shout, and everyone in the inn turned to look at her. "Oh, are you not from around these parts then? Even though you do look a bit familiar…" the innkeeper, a middle-aged Breton woman replied, and continued to recount the story, which had shaken everyone in the village. "It happened a few years ago, it's a really sad story. The family who lived there had already lost their daughter in a great storm, caused by dark magic. Years later, one night their farm was burnt to the ground; nobody knows what caused the fire. The family narrowly survived, which is a miracle, but they were so shaken about all that had happened to them, that they couldn't stay here anymore. Instead, they moved to Hammerfell where they could maybe start anew with a friend of theirs that had promised to help them" the innkeeper continued, talking to Linnea as if she was a stranger!  No one else in the inn seemed to recognize her either; she had been right about the fact that her body had seemed to have changed in some way, when she had escaped from Coldharbour. "Their daughter died in a storm... years ago?" Linnea asked, not completely understanding what the innkeeper had just told her. "Yes, it was about ten years ago. Her name was Linnea, and she was married to a Covenant guard. They were such a nice couple, seemed to be happy together an' all. Her husband so full of sadness... never got over it and asked his superiors if he could get a transfer to an operation in Cyrodiil. He's not been heard of since he left the village to go to the Alliance war" the innkeeper recalled the dramatic events that had taken place in the village. Linnea could only nod to her and then she walked away from the inn. Going through a phase of denial, the only thought in her head was that she just needed to get back home and then everything would be fine!  
  
 As she travelled up to her little home, she partially began to realise what she had just been told, and the stream of previously suppressed thoughts, started to fill her consciousness. Her husband and the rest of her family were gone; maybe they were not dead but it would be near impossible to find them anymore. The farm was in ruins, and none of the villagers seemed to recognise her, (her time in Coldharbor had really changed her) and besides that, she had lost her soul. The time spent in Coldharbor had felt like a couple of days, a week maybe, but it had actually been ten years, and the world had changed during that time - there was a war going on, among many other things, which she had had no idea of when she had woken up in that little cottage. Her hands started to shake, and it felt difficult to breathe. When she finally reached her home, it seemed obvious that it was not hers anymore; on reaching the gate, she saw Michel Helomaine was living there now with his wife! Linnea saw that Michel said something to her and looked concerned but she could not hear anything he said, since she was shrouded by total silence. It felt like she suddenly had been pulled under water; she was drowning in the flood of thoughts that were too traumatic for her mind to process.  
  
Linnea had been close to her breaking point when she had woken up in the unfamiliar cottage in Daggerfall and had discovered what had happened to her but now she was pushed far beyond it. The devastating blow this horrible news produced, now shattered the structures of her personality into sharp pieces, and with no soul holding them together, the result was severe. The silence she was consumed by, was broken by the voice of the Daedric Prince of Madness: "Cheer up, Mortal! Let Uncle Sheogorath help you!" Then she screamed and held her head in agony, tears streaming across her face, as pink butterflies of the Mad God filled her consciousness.


	5. New Day Dawning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea finds herself in Daggerfall again. She needs to make a living and plans to start working as an alchemist but she also gets an unexpected offer from a member of the Mages Guild.

Linnea regained her consciousness alone in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by different sounds; she heard a talented bard playing his lute, the cracks of burning wood in the fireplace and distant voices of people. Then a strange, yet somehow familiar voice, which echoed in her head weirdly, said: "Bon voyage, Mortal! Until we meet again!" It laughed manically and continued fading: "Haskill! A huuungry customer!" She opened her eyes and observed that she was in a cozy little room, furnished in Breton style. Slowly, still confused by the weird voice, she sat up. Despite the weakness of her body and dizziness in her head, she reached out for a slice of cheese and a glass of wine on a nearby table. It felt somehow familiar, as if she had a déjà-vu. The wine was drinkable, even though it tasted a bit too...yellow? On the other hand, the cheese tasted exceptionally delicious, as if it was from another realm.  
  
When she had finished her exquisite little meal, she turned her attention to her long, red hair, which was tangled and had a couple of dead, pink butterflies entwined in it, and then to the simple, blue dress full of stains and dirt, which she was dressed in. She had no idea why she looked so battered; maybe she had gotten into a battle, of which she remembered nothing. When she struggled more to recall the recent events, she remembered that she had been a prisoner in Coldharbor, where she had managed to escape from, together with the Prophet. This room had to be the place she had ended up after the flight, and these events would explain her appearance, except for the pink butterflies, which did not look like they would belong in the realm of Molag Bal. Nevertheless, she still did not remember anything else from her past, and she had that unnerving feeling that she did not know who she actually was.  
  
She started to inspect the backpack she had found on her bed, lying next to her; there were many kinds of alchemy ingredients, some gold, a certification of qualification in the profession of alchemy and a spell book, there. When she took a closer look at the book and the certification, she noticed that there was additional writing in the end of the book, and her name stood on the certification. Her mind started to put the pieces together, filling the missing parts, and it all felt clear to her: her name was Linnea, and she was a qualified alchemist and a mage, a templar who pursued the abominations of Molag Bal but had lost a fight and been taken captive in Coldharbor! She had lost her soul to that Daedric Prince, and considered that to be the reason why she could not remember anything else but her time in his plane of Oblivion. Linnea read the writing in the spell book again, it said: _Find Captain Kaleen in Stros M'Kai.  A sturdy, bald Redguard man named Gilzir in Daggerfall docks should be able to tell more._ She recalled the captain having helped her in some way; when she would be in a condition for travelling and could get appropriate gear for the journey, she would go to Stros M'Kai to look for her, in order to return the favor.  
  
Linnea washed her face at a water basin which stood in the corner, and combed her hair. Then she wiped the loose dirt from her dress, which was heavily stained and had torn sleeves; the dress would have to do, besides she would have to find appropriate mage robes anyway. Linnea recalled restorative magic being her specialty in the skill line of templar magic. By instinct, she cast an effective healing spell, which restored her life-force, and made her recovery from the fatigue considerably faster. Feeling much better, Linnea started to inspect her surroundings. She left her room, walked downstairs and observed that she was in an inn; on a table she saw a guest book of The Rosy Lion inn of Daggerfall. She did not have a clue if she had already paid for her room or if she had to pay for extra days, so she went to enquire to the innkeeper, the Breton called Gregoire Lafont, and asked if she would have to pay for her room. "You already paid for it, it's yours for this week, don't you remember? It's no wonder, though, cos you were quite dazed when you came in, talking something about the Golden Saints and the Shivering Isles. And you look like you have had quite a struggle since you last were here. Anyway, a couple of days ago, you paid quite generously for your room and, you also insisted on paying for the meal I served you last time you visited, even though I told you that the books you gave, were well worth it," the innkeeper explained to her patiently. "The books?" confused Linnea asked, "Have I recently been here?" she wondered by herself. "Yes, the ones you sold me stating that my 'sophisticated customers' would fancy reading them," the innkeeper replied. "Especially one of them, which has been very popular, it rarely stands on the bookshelf for a long time - my 'sophisticated' customers have been very eager to read that book called 'Lusty Argonian Maid!'" he smirked as he told about the popularity of the book.  
  
Linnea bought a bottle of Cloudrest Golden Ale and salmon with radish slaw, and sat at a corner table. She chased away her astonishment, and started to plan the trip to Stros M'Kai and considered what kind of equipment it would require. She decided that she needed at least light armored mage robes, a new pair of boots, a restoration staff, and of course, healing and magicka potions in case she ended up in a tough situation. She also fancied to get a sword and a dagger; even though she was a mage, she had an unexplainable feeling that she could somehow use them if she ended up in a melee combat during her adventures in Stros M’Kai. (She did not remember herself but when she was a child, she used to playfully train with a wooden sword, with her big brother and friends.) She had some gold left but it would not be enough for new gear, or for even used gear, if she decided to get all of the equipment she wanted to. Fortunately, she had a plan to earn gold; as a qualified alchemist she could gather more alchemy ingredients, look for proper solvents, and make potions for sale and naturally also for herself. Moreover, the Mages Guild was present in Daggerfall, and she could also ask there if their Master alchemist would like to get an apprentice for a short period of time.  
  
Linnea opened the door of the Rosy Lion inn and stepped outside. It was noon, and the city was full of life: she could see many busy-looking people walking the streets, the gardeners tending the decorative foliage, and she heard the vendors shouting their special offers of the day, in order to draw the attention of potential customers. She had felt quite happy and content in the cozy inn but her mood suddenly changed from euphoric to irritated as she had to walk the bustling street. She wanted to curse and shout to stop the people annoying her but instead she just stared at the ground as she walked, trying to focus on getting to her destination. She somehow knew where the guild hall of the Mages Guild was; it was the large, venerated, castle-like building next to the inn. Soon she hoped to get away from the crowded streets - but as she was about to step onto the stairs leading to the guild hall, a young Breton woman carrying a basked full of apples bumped into her, and the fruit fell onto the ground. That was the last straw that broke her, and made Linnea loose her self-control. "What in Oblivion are you doing? Mind where you walk!" she shouted at the poor woman, being on the edge of the nervous breakdown, and clenched her fists, the incinerating magic burning in her palms, crying for to get released. The frightened woman looked at the furious Breton in her ragged, dirty dress, and saw the lunatic flaming in her eyes. "I...I'm so sorry!" she cried and decided that it was best to leave the basked, and to walk away with haste. As the fit of rage subsided, it left Linnea appalled and silently crying; she was ashamed of how she had just yelled at the poor woman. More importantly, she was scared of her loss of control - she had had to use all of her willpower not to cast a destructive spell on an innocent, and it had narrowly been close enough!  
  
Linnea forced herself to calm down by purposefully slowing down her breathing and wiped away the tears from her face. When she was back to her normal mood - whichever it meant to her in her new life - she firmly opened the great door of the Mages Guild and entered the building. Pushing away the recent events from her mind, she faked her confidence as she determinedly walked towards the alchemy lab at which the Master Alchemist was standing, focused on his current work. Linnea smiled, doing her best to look like a convincing professional alchemist, and greeted the Master Alchemist, Danel Telleno: "Hello! I am Linnea, a recently qualified alchemist, and I wondered if you require a capable assistant, sir... I can show you the quality of my work if you wish." The Dunmer stared at the young Breton woman in her torn dress full of stains, trying his best to hide his astonishment, and replied to her a bit arrogantly: "Yes, I remember you, there is nothing wrong with my memory - you were my apprentice a few weeks ago!" and continued with a hint of concern in his voice: "However you seem to suffer from some kind of amnesia, am I right? And last time we met, you seemed to pay more attention to your appearance." "That's right, sir, unfortunately I have suffered from some kind of loss of memory, since an unfortunate failure in a fight against the daedra, which also explains my untidy appearance," she replied, and assured: "However, I am certain that my alchemy skills and magical abilities have not been affected by the recent events." "That is very plausible…So you are a fighter then? I would never have believed that last time I saw you," the Master Alchemist wondered, and continued: "On the other hand, people are full of surprises. In any case, I think it would be a good idea to go to see one of the Guild's healers to check if you have some injuries that require a healing spell or a potion." "I'm actually a templar, sir, and being also a healer myself, I already checked myself in case of injuries that need to be taken care of," Linnea told him politely.  
  
"Adventurous mages are always needed in the Mages Guild!" Linnea heard a woman's voice shouting happily. She turned around and saw a brown-haired Breton woman wearing mage robes standing in front of her. "Sorry, if I interrupted you, I just overheard that you are a battlemage," she explained, and told what she was up to: "My name is Nemarc, and I am always looking for capable recruits to the Guild. Are you willing to join? First after joining you could for example do some book hunting. That's what the adventurous new ones usually start with in our Guild, and that kind of work is usually paid rather well, too." Linnea took a brief moment to consider the unexpected offer; joining the Mages Guild would most likely be beneficial, since it could provide her a secure source of income besides her alchemy work, and probably it would also give her useful contacts to some talented mages. Linnea declared that it would be an honor to be a member of the Mages Guild and smiled politely at the enthusiastic Breton mage. "Excellent!" Nemarc exclaimed as Linnea signed the paper for joining the guild. "Welcome to the Mages Guild, then! And there's one more thing: I think these robes and boots are about your size, I bet they provide more protection and magicka regeneration in your travels than your current dress does. Besides, the robes have a useful enchant in them, increases resistance from dirt and minor tearing," she said smilingly as she handed the gift to her. Linnea thanked her and was very pleased with her new gear: the lightly armored, green-shaded mage robes and the simple brown boots that were lightly reinforced with steel, were exactly what she was missing.  
  
After a small welcoming ceremony accompanied by some basic information about the Mages Guild rules and its history, Nemarc had directed Linnea to go to speak with Valaste, an Altmer scholar, whose task was to take care of the Arcanaeum, the massive library of the Mages Guild. Valaste, the serious-looking Altmer mage, who was working hard on the matter of adding new tomes into the collection, had given her a map of Glenumbra, and marked the location of an ancient Ayleid ruin called Silumm; it was in the North-East from the city, where she could start looking for invaluable tomes when she would decide to join in that project of the Guild. On the other hand, Danel Telleno had suggested that Linnea could start her work as his apprentice by going and gathering some alchemy ingredients for him in the opposite direction, to the South-East from the city; there were many kinds of flowers of exceptionally good alchemical qualities in that region. The problem concerning acquiring them, the Master Alchemist had warned her, was that recently there were plenty sightings of wolves and possibly also some daedric creatures roaming in the meadows around the city. Therefore, before going to gather the ingredients, Linnea had spent a considerable amount of her gold buying a small, light sword and a matching dagger; if she ended up being attacked by the wolves or some other creatures, the blades would become crucial in a close-combat. The Master alchemist, who also turned out to be superior in enchanting, had enchanted the weapons for a reasonable price, so that they also dealt frost damage thus slowing down the ones hit by them. Having gained confidence from her new gear, Linnea had left the Guild Hall and the city at once, and started to walk along the road leading South-East from Daggerfall.  
  
Linnea stepped away from the road at the place the Master Alchemist had marked on her new map; it was a lush meadow full of flowers, among which Linnea recognized many useful alchemy plants. As she wandered across the meadow collecting Lady's smocks and Buglosses, she admired the beautiful view around her. It was the beginning of Hearthfire, and the autumn's presence was clear; even though many flowers still bloomed, and the sun shined warmly in the cloudless sky, the chilly North wind tore yellow leaves from the trees and made her shiver a bit in her mage robes that were most likely made for warm summer weather. During her journey in the wilderness, Linnea had not seen any wolves or other predators, so she allowed herself to relax a bit. So she took a moment to think about her current life: even though she felt quite lost in this world, it made her feel better that she was part of the Mages Guild now, thus almost belonging to something and somewhere. Also, it was nice to get back to her work and to normal life - if a mage's life could ever be considered as normal - after all that had happened to her, while the trip to Stros M'Kai was waiting for her in the near future. She closed her eyes for a while and enjoyed the feeling of the sunshine and the cold wind at her face; it was lovely being alone in the wilderness, and to enjoy the solitude the pristine nature provided her.  
  
Where the meadow ended at a cliff, Linnea saw something interesting; close to the edge, there were colour palettes and an easel holding an unfinished painting, which depicted the stunning landscape. Linnea admired the beautiful picture and wondered if its painter would return soon; the paint on the palettes had not dried completely yet. She planned to say something nice to the artist when they returned, but when she took a closer look at the painting, she realised something unnerving; the red stains on the canvas were not paint but blood.


	6. Thunderbolts and Flashbacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea's anger takes control of her and gets her acting out. The adrenaline running in her veins reveals totally new sides of her and her skills.

Linnea stared at the blood stains spillt onto the painting and felt how her heart rate increased as the agony filled her mind; it was so obvious something terrible had happened to the person who had been painting something as beautiful as that work! As Linnea started to inspect the scene where the tragedy had taken place, she noticed that there were small traces of resistance on the grass, and that the ground at the edge of the cliff was also stained with blood. She looked down but saw nothing lying below the edge - instead she barely distinguished some traces of blood and fighting along the shore of the sea, maybe there was still some hope to find the unfortunate painter alive!  
  
Linnea looked around to be sure that the attacker, which she thought to be one of the daedric creatures seen in that region, was not lurking around hoping to get more prey. Then she sheathed her weapons and started to carefully climb down the cliff, using the safest way she could find, to descend. As she had gotten halfway down, she discovered a new thing about herself - she apparently disliked high places, at least when there was a chance of falling down from them. Her hand started to shake uncomfortably as she looked down, and it felt almost impossible to continue. Since it was too late to turn back, she focused on not to think about the altitude, which to her great surprise actually worked, so that a bit later she was able to keep on going. When she had reached the ground, she lived a short moment of relief and pride to have been able to overcome her fear but as soon as she had calmed down and her heart had stopped beating like it would come out of her chest, she focused on the rescue mission again. When Linnea approached the latest signs of fighting, she noticed the sudden shift in the weather; dark clouds had covered the sun, and the strong winds were bringing a thunder storm from the sea. Soon she heard the first rumbles of thunder and saw the lightning striking into the water near the coast.  
  
Linnea had no idea why this sudden change of weather made her feel so very upset but she feared that she could not hold back her panic much longer; the world surrounding her started to feel too unreal, as if she was drifting in a nightmare, and every time she saw a lightning or heard the thunder, it felt like someone had punched her under the diaphragm, making breathing impossible. She noticed that all the thunder clouds seemed to gather above one place, and when she forced herself to look at there, she saw the extremely terrible truth. In the eye of the storm, there was a monument looking like a giant well, and the Daedric scripts carved onto it were glowing ominously. In front of the structure, there was a captured man - probably the Painter - tied up, and two cultists of some kind had gathered in front of him, chanting a dark ritual! Among the stormy winds, Linnea could hear some of the words they spoke: "When Coldharbor calls, Nirn obeys...in the name of Molag Bal, we sacrifice this innocent..." Next thing Linnea saw as she stood frozen from the shock, thus unable to move, was the giant anchor that fell from the wounded sky into the depths of the monument. Then the unbearable odours of sulphur and brimstone mixed with the scent of the chamomiles growing nearby, making Linnea lose the grip of the present world and of herself. It was too late to save the Painter but she would avenge him - and most importantly, she would get _her_ revenge!  
  
"Those sons of a bitch will pay for what they have done," was the only somewhat clear thought in Linnea's mind that was occupied by tormenting flashbacks, as she sprinted towards the Dark Anchor. The incredible amount of adrenaline running in her bloodstream awoke all the magical abilities that had been dormant inside of her until this fateful day, and brought up a vast amount of her previously suppressed, unending anger. It felt like an infernal sun was burning in her chest, and that rage she channelled through her hands, giving it the form of sun rays, which she casted up to the skies, making them fall onto her enemies as destructive, incinerating spears. The surprise attack had managed to catch the two Breton men, the servants of Molag Bal, off guard, since they had been so focused on tending the connection between Nirn and Coldharbor with their ritual. Thus, both of them fell onto the ground; sharp spears of sunlight pierced the thorax of one of them, stunning him, and the bright light temporarily blinded the other, making him vulnerable and unable to defend himself. Linnea used the element of surprise as her advantage, and stabbed his neck, perforating the large blood vessels. She smiled cruelly as she saw the spout of blood rising from the lacerated carotid artery, following the pulse of her victim's failing heart and mixing with the darker venous blood streaming from his jugular vein. The warm blood splattering onto her face felt fascinating as she watched the life escaping from the young Breton before he could even understand what had happened to him.  
  
Then she turned her attention to the other man lying on the ground. In terror, he had been watching as his best friend was butchered, completely unable to help him. The spears had perforated his ribcage, and the air had started to get trapped in the pleural spaces, collapsing his lungs and preventing the venous blood from returning to his heart, thus killing him as his heart started to fail to circulate his blood. He struggled to breathe, and Linnea saw the fear in his eyes; he could not believe that his life on Nirn was ending now. Linnea and the stranger stared at each other for a while; they both knew he was going to die soon, and the battle was already over. Then, with great effort, he spoke his last words, having his bittersweet victory while saying them: "You cannot stop us...the Daedric forces are already coming... soon you're going to die, too. See you in Oblivion, bitch, may your soul burn in Coldharbor!" and then his heart finally ceased beating.  
  
Soon Linnea realised what her enemy had told her. The corpses of the fallen cultists vanished as Molag Bal claimed his minions to his realm, and Linnea saw something falling from the veil the anchor had torn in the sky, accompanied by a loud crashing sound which made the ground tremble. The abominations of Molag Bal had not seen her yet, so she retreated, hiding behind a rock nearby; it seemed that she was outnumbered by the daedric creatures. All the adrenaline in her blood made her subconscious screaming _fight or flight_ , as she tried to catch her breath in her hiding place, observing the two clannfears and many little scamps. The rage consuming her was still flaming bright inside of her making escaping impossible, so the only option left was to stand up and fight.

 The sun was covered by the dark clouds of the storm but she could sense its presence nevertheless; she felt the heat of pure sunlight burning in her, like all templars did when they had to call upon its destructive powers. So, she rushed into the battle, casting fiery balls of light and throwing blazing spears of sun rays towards the daedra, while trying to avoid the fire balls the small but wicked scamps threw at her. One by one, they fell, and she also managed to deal some critical damage against the clannfears. Everything appeared to go well as she finished one of the clannfears with her sword but suddenly she felt a strong blow in her left flank, and fell to the ground; the other beast she had failed to pay attention to, had rushed onto her. She noticed that something happened to her right shoulder and then she felt the sharp pain in her lower abdominal region, which the creature had torn with its dreadful claws. Linnea barely managed to roll aside from the next attack, and casted a quick healing spell on her. Then she gathered all the magicka she had left and dealt a beam of focused, pure sunlight - the final execution blow, onto the clannfear, which fell lifeless onto the ground.

Somehow Linnea managed to find the strength to destroy the Dolmen pinions, the magical sources which she thought to be essentially holding the anchor in its place; after the last of them was dealt with, the anchor started to shatter, and it retreated up to the skies, from where it had fallen, taking the corpses of the daedra with it. Then, among the last sounds of thunder, Linnea heard the angry voice of the Daedric Prince speaking to her: "You may have destroyed this Dolmen but you will never destroy _me_!" and a daedric chest landed next to her, nearly crushing her.  
  
 As soon as the Dark Anchor had been destroyed, the dark clouds subsided and the sun started to reappear again, and as the adrenaline faded from her bloodstream, she became aware of the infernal pain in her dislocated shoulder, and the aching in her lower abdominal region. Linnea focused the warming light of the sun into a spell, which mildly alleviated the pain and relaxed her muscles; she screamed in agony as she pulled her arm, getting the head of the humerus back to its right place. Then she used the last bits of her newly regenerated magicka supply to heal the damaged tissues in her shoulder joint. When the most painful problem was dealt with, Linnea noticed the blood that dampened part of her robes. She took off the cloth and saw the long, bleeding wound. Then everything around her started to look white and dizzy, as if it was a cloudy day of winter, and the falling snow had covered the entire landscape.


	7. Voyage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea's healing skills are put to the test. She is laying on the ground wounded and there is nobody there who can help. This was originally the last chapter of my short story but then I decided to continue writing it further.

Linnea recognised the significance of this experience; she might faint soon. She had an open wound, and she thought that she had lost a considerable amount of blood from it, thus she would be going into shock due to the blood loss. She knew that she was all alone, and there would be no one to save her but herself; no matter how scared she was of seeing her own blood, she would have to inspect the wound and try to heal it properly if she wanted to survive. Nevertheless, she lacked the courage to do so; instead, she just lay on the ground as she was being pulled beyond her consciousness. She was shivering from cold, and the sound of the wind echoed strangely in her head as the white landscape filled her mind with its light.  
  
When Linnea regained her consciousness, she expected to see the bleak landscapes of Coldharbor, and hear the screaming of soul shrivens that were tormented by the Daedra. Though, when she opened her eyes and looked around, the place looked exactly like the one where she had fallen. "This does not look like anything in Oblivion, instead it looks just like the place I was in, on Tamriel!" confused Linnea thought as she got up. Being still sure that she had died again, she checked the region where the laceration had been, anticipating to see her skin intact - but the wound was still there, so she most likely was still alive, after all. When she examined it properly, she noticed that it was only superficial, not even reaching very deep into her subcutaneous tissues, and it had not bled that much, either; it was unlikely that the blood loss would have caused any kind of collapsing. Linnea was happy that no other healer or battlemage was around to have witnessed her fainting after having seen such a minor scratch on herself! She got up and walked to the shore; there she found a source of 'pure water', bubbling beneath the surface of the sea. Sources of pure water are valuable for alchemists, since they require solvents that are not contaminated, for their potions and such.  
  
Fortunately, the bleeding had already mostly ceased, thus performing the adequate wound-healing procedures she had learned, would be more bearable for her. First, the wound should be cleansed from the debris and the regeneration should be initiated by alchemical means in order to repair the tissues so that no scar would be left - after that the actual healing spell could be cast. Linnea collected the pure water into the small, empty alchemy bottles she had with her; she would use one of them now and the others would form an excellent solvent reserve for her potions. So, she made a simple healing potion, fitting for her purposes, in her 'field laboratory': she crushed some Bugloss, which was known for its purifying and regenerative properties, into the bottle and heated the solution with her fire spell, so that it went blue shade, and started to glow faintly. Then she grimaced as she took the rest of her robes off and rinsed the wound with the sea water to get rid of most of the contaminants, before pouring the mixture on the damaged skin. The salty water made the wound sting, moreover the amount of blood looked much greater as it was diluted into the water. After she had applied the mixture onto the wound, it became cleaner and partially started to closed from its bottom as the simple potion began to do its work. Then Linnea cast a restoration spell on the laceration, so that it was closed totally, and the problem was dealt with; the regeneration was complete, and there was no kind of scar left on her skin.  
  
Linnea looked at the reflection of her blood stained face on the still surface of the sea. She had killed the two Breton men, who had sacrificed the Painter to Molag Bal, to her nemesis; that was one of the few things she remembered about the whole battle caused by her sudden loss of control. She wondered if those Bretons would come back to haunt her, either in her nightmares or in her real life - the latter possibility could not be excluded, since the Daedric Lord was involved in the matter. Nevertheless, Linnea had no regrets; thinking about the men she had butchered made her feel...nothing. As she washed her face with the sea water, the dried blood of her enemies mixed with it - she smelled the blood, and the both metallic and salty _taste_ of it in her mouth was sickening, and made her throw up into the water. That physical reaction also cleaned her subconscious from the suppressed thoughts of all the horrible things she had just experienced, and after it, she felt very calm and stable for a while.  
  
After Linnea had washed her clothes in the sea and dried them with the aid of her magic, she left them on a rock and went to swim, also in order to wash herself in the sea. The air was a bit chilly but the evening sun still shined warmly to the coast, and the cold winds had relented. Moreover, the sea water was warm after the long summer, and also due to the warm currents that came from the coasts of Hammerfell. As Linnea swam in the sea, she felt first content but then melancholy filled her mind; only the yellow leaves floating on the water reminded her of autumn's presence, and otherwise it was just like a bit chillier day of summer. Thus, Linnea mournfully thought about the departed summer she remembered nothing of, and all the other memories stolen from her. To chase away the painful thoughts from her mind, she took a deep breath and thought before diving: "After all, who knows if there even is anything worth remembering in my past."  
  
When she had gotten back to the place she had left her gear and had dressed herself again, she remembered the mysterious daedric chest that had landed next to her on the Dolmen. As she inspected the chest, she noticed that it was not protected in any way; it was not locked, and did not seem to have any kind of dark magic around it, so it would be safe to open. In the chest, there were some items that seemed to have belonged to an alchemist; those things were probably the property left from a poor soul that had become a soul shriven in Coldharbor. Linnea wondered why Molag Bal had wanted to kick them off from his realm; she doubted that the only purpose of the fallen chest would have been to try to crush her under it. In any case, as it was clear that whoever had owned those items before, would never have them again, Linnea took the dried up alchemy ingredients (most of them could still be used in alchemy, while others could only be utilized in other purposes), a purse with some gold in it, and a simple, golden ring, that were in the chest. She took a closer look at the ring but in the fading light of the evening, she failed to notice the carving inside of it. For some reason, she really liked the ring and decided to start wearing it.  
  
The darkness descended upon the meadows and the shore, and it became colder; Linnea decided that she should walk back to Daggerfall instead of staying overnight at the place she was in, since there would not be enough driftwood on the shore to make a proper campfire to warm her during the chilly night. Fortunately, the rising Masser and Secunda would light up her path, and Linnea knew where she would find the road leading to the city. While walking, Linnea chased the coldness away with her fire spell; she burned it occasionally to warm her ice cold hands, with the least amount of magicka possible, so that she would have a magicka reserve large enough, in case of getting attacked by wolves or other beasts.  
  
It was midnight when Linnea reached the city gates; there had not been any hindrances on the road but she had walked slowly, since she was exhausted by the recent events. At the gates, a young city guard greeted her: "Good evening, Miss! May I ask what you're doing on the road so late at night?" Linnea answered him shortly, and then remembered that she should probably tell him about the cultists and the Painter's death: "I think you should inform your captain that I saw two worshippers of Molag Bal killing an innocent citizen, most likely a painter, at a Dark Anchor they had built South-East from the city, here," she said, and pointed the place on her map while casting her mage light, which was a simple, cold sparkle of light. "Thank you, Miss, I'll take care of that the Dolmen will be destroyed, they'll probably send some guards there at once," the guard replied. Linnea laughed a bit and told: "Not necessary to go there in the middle of the night, I already dealt with the cultists, and the Dark Anchor is also gone but it was too late to save the poor painter. No corpses will be found, either, since Molag Bal claimed his minions and the sacrifice to Coldharbor." " _You_ killed the cultists and destroyed the whole Dolmen yourself?" the amazed guard asked; the story of that young Breton mage sounded quite unbelievable. On the other hand, some of his friends in the Covenant Guard had told him before his shift had started that they had heard strange noise from that direction, and one of them had even claimed to have heard the distant echoes of the disappointed voice of a Daedric Prince! "It is going to be a cold night," Linnea said to change the topic, and the guard replied her: "Aye, freezing - probably even the first frost of this year - I should have put warmer clothes under this armour..." Linnea took an old wine bottle from her backpack and suggested: "I know what will keep you warm during the night, I could help you to -" but she was interrupted by the young Breton guard: "I'm sorry, Miss, but during our shifts we're not allowed to drink or -" "- make a proper fire." Linnea continued calmly where she had left, looking down, at the miserable pile of partially charred wood that was supposed to be a warming campfire. With a swift gesture she lit the logs, which started to burn with intense flames, and handed the wine bottle to the guard, explaining: "There are some dried dragonthorns in the bottle. They're not first-class alchemy ingredients anymore but they will serve you as kindles. If you're having trouble keeping the fire up, throw some of them into the flames.” "Thank you, Miss! I’m not very good with spells, especially not the fire ones, and the woods were so damn wet," the embarrassed city guard replied her; he was very grateful for the fact that it was night and he was wearing a helm, and therefore the talented mage girl would not see him blushing! Linnea smiled at him in a friendly manner; she was happy to help someone who had a trouble that could be solved so very easily.  
  
Linnea laid on the bed of her room in the Rosy Lion Inn; it would still be hers for a couple of days, which would be a long time enough, since she was planning to leave Daggerfall and travel to Stros M'Kai within a few days, preferably as soon as possible. Now she had most of the gear she thought she would require during the trip, and she would acquire the missing items easily enough. Linnea was exhausted but still unable to rest - fortunately the sufficient amount of Nightshade she had taken, would soon get her into deep, dreamless sleep.  
  
It was already afternoon when the effects of the sedative plant had subsided, and Linnea woke up. After she had finished her morning routines and had full woken, she walked downstairs to the hall. She sat at a table for a while, considering what to have for a very late 'breakfast'. Then she noticed a waiter carrying a glass of wine and a flank steak to her table. She was just about to say that she had not ordered anything like this but the waiter explained to her: "It's from the gentleman there," and pointed to a table nearby where three young Breton men were sitting, but Linnea recognised none of them. They seemed to have paid attention to her, nevertheless, and one of them, who had cinnamon-red, long hair and olive-green eyes, looked a bit familiar. When he greeted her and explained that he wanted to offer her a meal to thank her for her aid, she realised that he was the guard she had helped last night; she had not seen his face properly since he had worn a helm, and it had been dark, but she had immediately recognised his voice as he had started to speak. It was interesting to see a guard in his free time and wearing his civilian clothes; he did not look authoritative at all, and his behaviour was not official in any way. He and his friends, who also served in the Daggerfall City Guard, invited her to their table, and after they had introduced themselves, she decided to join their company.  
  
"It was an exceptionally cold night of Hearthfire, indeed! Thanks again for helping me with the fire, if it wasn’t for your help, the night shift would have been very chilly and unpleasant," the guard told her. "Yeah because someone lost the tinders he had promised to take with him!" his friend continued and playfully pushed his shoulder. "So you really destroyed a Dark Anchor all by yourself, then," his other friend wondered. Starting to feel uncomfortable due to the attention she and the recent events had obviously gotten, Linnea stated smirkingly: "Do you really believe a random girl telling you a tall story about daedra and cultists?" "Actually, our friends just told us that when their shift began, for their first task they inspected the area you showed me on the map, and guess what they found? Only blood splatters all around the monument but no corpses anywhere as you had told...but then they found a chest, and there were some dried dragonthorns left in it! And, they also found this," the guard told, and showed her a strand of ruby-red hair, the shade of it was precisely the same as in her hair. "That still does not prove that everything I've told you would be correct," Linnea reminded him smiling deviously, hoping to prevent rumours of her and the events from spreading. "In any case, you should think about joining the City Guard, I bet you'd like it, and we'd like to have someone like you in our ranks," he suggested to her and the others nodded approvingly. Linnea promised to consider that option, even though she really did not have any intentions to join the Daggerfall City Guard, or even to settle in that city – _now_ she really wanted to get out of the city as soon as possible!  
  
Linnea thanked him for the meal and company, and as she was about to leave, the guard she had met last night, looked like he would like to say something to her. Encouraged by the subtle gestures of his friends, he finally asked: "I wonder if you already have something planned on Fredas but I have a day off then, and there is that harvest festival here then, and it would be nice if you'd come there with me." Linnea smiled at him warmly, yet a bit sadly and said: "It would have been nice to come but I doubt I'll be here anymore on Fredas, I would like to be in Stros M'Kai by then. I hope you'll enjoy the festival, though." Then she remembered something, told him that she would be right back and went to her room. A bit later she returned, and as she said goodbyes, she handed him a letter. Later, when he would open it, he would notice that the letter he got from that interesting mage girl, was about how to cast a simple fire spell which could safely and easily lit up the fire!  
  
Despite getting up late, by the evening Linnea had gotten all things done she had wanted to do during that day, and everything was ready for the trip. First she had visited the Mages Guild hall: she had given Danel Telleno the alchemy flowers she had promised to gather for him, and used the alchemy lab to craft the potions she lacked. The Master Alchemist had wished she would have stayed longer instead of this very short period of time; good apprentices were not easy to find. Linnea had also apologetically told Valaste that the book-finding task would probably have to wait a rather long time, due to her more urgent business in Stros M'Kai. She had also told her what had happened at the Dark Anchor. They had discussed more about the matter, and Linnea was told that the Dolmens were a crucial part of the Planemeld, Molag Bal's schema to attach Nirn to Coldharbor and rule over it. She had also learned more about the Worm Cult, which consisted of Molag Bal’s worshippers; probably the men Linnea had killed, had also belonged in it.   
  
Then Linnea had headed to the market place where she had bought a little clothes repairing kit to carry with her, and got the tailor to fix her slightly torn mage robes. She also bought a staff that was especially made for restorative magic users, and a thick cloak, which would serve her well during the voyage to Stros M'Kai, and probably also when she would get back to High Rock; it surely would be autumn or even winter by then. She did not remember or know how to use a staff but she had heard that they were quite effective when casting spells, and it would be easy to learn to use them, provided that the user had affinity for magic.  
  
When Linnea walked through the city gates in the evening, she saw the guard she had gotten acquainted with, standing on his post; his shift had just began, and again he was struggling with the fire. She smiled and could not help but laugh a bit as she saw his desperate efforts to set the logs on fire. Linnea decided to show him how to place the firewood properly, and how to cast the spell; together they created a brightly burning campfire, even though it probably was mostly Linnea's spell, which actually brought the fire alive. Then it was time for Linnea to leave, and the guard wished her safe travels. When Linnea finally left, the young Breton watched as his crush walked away, and wondered if he would ever see her again. "He is so cute and friendly, if only I could stay..." Linnea thought by herself - but she knew that it would not be possible, for she could not settle down.   
  
At the docks Linnea found Gilzir and his boat; she told him that she wanted to travel to Stros M'Kai in order to help her saviour, Captain Kaleen, and he offered to take her there for free. They set sail at once, and the Redguard man promised to tell her about Captain Kaleen's problem and the situation in the little island, during their voyage. Linnea stood at the deck and looked into the horizon. Cool wind played with her hair, and she pulled her cloak tighter to protect herself against the chilly weather. The setting sun was covered by a thick veil of grey clouds, so there was no poetic sunset but a petty streak of sunlight glowing in the western horizon instead. It also started to drizzle but that did not matter to Linnea, as her thoughts were in everything that had happened to her during the past couple of days, and in everything that might be waiting for her in Stros M'Kai. _After all_ , she thought, _it is wonderful to be alive, despite living without a soul_.


	8. Evening Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea is back in the place where her new life began.

In terror, Linnea ran in the tunnels of Coldharbour, trying to get out but they appeared to be endless. She only wore ragged clothes and had a rusty iron sword as her weapon; her legs felt numb, as if they did not want to obey her commands, and she was out of magicka, permanently. All the shadows in the tunnels looked suspicious; Linnea was sure that a Daedra could be lurking in any of them, waiting for her to approach so that it could suddenly attack on its prey. Nevertheless, she kept on going, since she had to find her soul and memories that were stolen from her; each time she came to a crossroad, she saw an ethereal projection of herself - that had to be her soul - floating there but she could not see to which tunnel it went, and she knew that she always picked the wrong one.

  
Finally, she reached the end of the tunnel and ended up in a vast, open area; she looked around and saw the bleak, dead landscapes of Coldharbour and the sky, which glowed in a cold shade of blue. She could hear the cruel laughter of a Dremora and the shouts of tormented souls, begging for mercy. When she looked around, she saw some fragments of her memories bound with dark magic scattered around the area - she thought that if she had managed to set other person's memories free, she should also be able to claim her own ones, and rushed towards them. When she was just about to unbind the first fragment from its prison, she felt a strong blow, and fell onto the ground: a clannfear that she had failed to notice, had rushed onto her, knocking the air out of her lungs. As she lay there, unable to get up or breathe, she noticed that she was staring into familiar eyes - she was looking at the Worm Cultist, the young Breton man, she had killed at the Dark Anchor some time ago. They both knew they were going to die - unless they were dead already - and there was nothing they could do about it. Then Linnea felt as if she was lifted up to the skies, smelled the unnerving scent of chamomiles and brimstone, and saw a glimpse of a little Breton village that looked somehow familiar to her.  
  
Linnea woke up in her bed; she was sweating, breathing frantically, and her heart beat like it would come out of her chest. It took her a while to realise that it had only been a nightmare, since it had felt so real to her. After she had rescued Lyris Titanborn from Coldharbour, she had started to have these nightmares about that realm of Molag Bal much more frequently, so that even the idea of going to bed had started to feel unpleasant to her. Nightshade extract usually helped her to fall into a dreamless sleep but she had tried to use it less recently; since it was winter, alchemy plants were more difficult to find, and her own supplies of Nightshade were not that abundant, thus she was afraid of running out of the extract soon.  
  
Linnea knew that she would not fall asleep for a long time now; she always woke up at midnight and was unable to sleep for the next couple of hours, when she had tried to fall asleep early and without any sedatives. Thus, she got up, changed her wet nightgown and had a sip of water from a goblet that stood on her night stand. Masser and Secunda cast their light into her little room through a window, and the night was silent; the other mages in the Mages Guild hall of Daggerfall were either sleeping or still focused on their research. Linnea decided to make herself some jasmine tea, then she put her cloak on, took the tea cup and left her room. First she had planned to go to the alchemy laboratory in order to make some preparations for her next working day but then realised that even though she was unable to sleep, she would still be too tired to work. Thus, she aimlessly started to walk the draughty corridors of the guild hall; it was so silent that her every step appeared to echo everywhere in the building, even though she tried to walk lightly.  
  
She walked up the stairs and entered the top level of the highest tower of the guild hall. It was chilly there, so she pulled her cloak tighter around her, to better protect herself from the cold. She occasionally spent time in that, especially peaceful, part of the guild hall when she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Linnea drank the rest of her tea which was almost cold, and looked out of the window. The view was stunningly beautiful; the city below her was quiet and the full Moons lighted the landscape, making the freshly fallen snow on the ground and the rooftops glitter magically, and the few lights in the windows looked cozy. The frosty night was clear, and despite the bright Moons, Linnea could see some of the constellations; the Thief was still the dominant one, looking down after his Charges of the other constellations and those born under its sign, from its central position in the night sky. Linnea looked at its stars, and wondered if she was born under its sign, or if her constellation was one of the other twelve - she had often thought that she probably was born under the Serpent's sign. That constellation was wandering about in the sky, not being bound into any season of the year; those born under the Serpent's sign were said to be the most blessed and cursed among mortals. Linnea thought that description would fit her well; she doubted she was blessed in any way but at least she felt that she was cursed, indeed.  
  
It was the end of Evening Star, and the end of the year had been exceptionally cold, thus it had been snowing occasionally, and the snow had usually stayed on the ground for quite a while, too. Some people would say that it was terribly freezing due to the Planemeld and Molag Bal's evil deeds that had been taking place on Nirn recently but Linnea rather thought that the cold weather was Nirn's way to comfort those who dwelt on it; the snow made everything look so pure and beautiful, and the frosty nights were serene. Linnea had been surprised by the coldness, though, when she had returned to High Rock and to Daggerfall from the sunny and warm island of Stros M'Kai. It had already been Sun's Dusk when she had come back from her travels, and soon she had noticed that her clothing had been most inappropriate for the current weather. Luckily, she had managed to acquire better gear at once, and after that urgent matter had been dealt with, she had settled in the Mages Guild's headquarters in Daggerfall. She had continued her work as Master Alchemist Danel Telleno's apprentice; after her eventful trip, she had felt like she needed a break from all sorts of adventures for a while.  
  
In the beginning of Hearthfire, Linnea had left Daggerfall and travelled to Stros M'Kai, the little island near the coast of Hammerfell; she had wanted to return the favour to Captain Kaleen, who had rescued her from the sea, where she had nearly drowned in when escaping from Coldharbour with the Prophet. Captain Kaleen, a Redguard pirate, had recently lost her crew, and had required help with recruiting new sailors; when she had told her crew that they would no longer raid Breton ships, since High Rock and Hammerfell were now allies, they had mutinied against her. Linnea had promised to help her, and find her the folk she especially wanted to have co-operate with her; a Breton woman called Crafty Lerisa, who was the master of disguises, Neramo, an Altmer male, who was a specialist concerning Dwemer, and Jakarn, a Breton thief, who also appeared to be quite a 'player', as Linnea had learnt when helping him to escape from the prison...  
  
To recruit the new members to Captain Kaleen's crew had sounded more simple than it had turned out to be, involving an escape from the Grave, an extremely infamous prison, with Jakarn, exploring Dwemer ruins for Neramo, and saving Crafty Lerisa's crew from the cruel pirate captain Helene's imprisonment. Finally, when Linnea had assisted those people, they had agreed to join Captain Kaleen's crew, and Captain Kaleen had presented to them her plan for their first heist; they would steal the shipping logs - records of incoming ships and cargoes - from Bhosek, the brutal dictator of Stros M'Kai. Linnea had found the idea quite unnerving, since she had no experience of thieving but she had wanted to assist her saviour as best as she could, and had promised to help the Captain further. To Linnea's great surprise, they had actually succeeded in the task, thanks to her talented new friends, and had gotten the shipping logs without getting caught. Then they had decided to set sail at once, and had travelled to Bethnik, an island near the coasts of High Rock and Hammerfell, which previously had belonged to Bretons but was now settled by Orcs.  
  
 Linnea had noticed that the evil lurking in Tamriel had appeared to have spread everywhere, when she had arrived in Bethnik; that little isolated island was terrorised by Bloodthorn cultists, a group that consisted of necromancers and bandits and sought to ascend into power there. It had not been easy but Linnea and her friends had managed to help the leader of Bethnik, Chief Tazgol, to eliminate the threat the Bloodthorn cultists had posed to his island - even though Linnea suspected that it would be near impossible to totally get rid of the cultists. Nevertheless, the Chief had been so pleased and relieved that he had even promised his island to join the Daggerfall Covenant - he had systematically rejected all the invitations to join the Covenant before. Chief Tazgol had asked Linnea to take his petition to join the alliance to Sir Lanis in the city of Daggerfall but Linnea had proposed that Captain Kaleen, who she had learnt to be more fanatic Covenant supporter than she herself was, should get the honor for that. Thus, Linnea herself had returned to Stros M'Kai, since that island had appeared to be such an interesting place to spend some time in - it was improbable that the dictator Bhosek would associate her with the disappearance of the shipping logs, after all.  
  
First Linnea had loved the exotics and the warm climate of Stros M'Kai but soon she had explored everything worth finding on that little island, and she had started to get bored and somewhat miss High Rock. Thus, she had left the place and ended up in Daggerfall again, looking for work. She had wondered if the offer to join the City Guard that the guard Linnea had got acquintanted to, had made with his friends, would still stand. Nevertheless, she had decided to rather become the Apprentice Alchemist of the Mages Guild again; after all, she was not very familiar with swords, shields, heavy armour and such things, not to mention that she had no idea of the work in the City Guard itself, and alchemy was what she thought she was at least good at. So, Linnea had found her place in the Mages Guild of Daggerfall, and had even started to plan to settle in that city this time; she had quite contently lived rather normal and peaceful life with her alchemy work that mostly took place indoors in the winter - until the Prophet had appeared to her as an ethereal projection.  
  
It had been late evening of Warrior's Festival in Sun's Dusk; the sky had been clear, and the temperature had been freezing; exactly like in that sleepless night Linnea was having now. Back then, Linnea had taken part in the festivities, like other citizens of Daggerfall; she had watched the playful duels and other performances, and visited the Blacksmiths' stores where everything had been discounted due to the festival. She could have found a much better light sword at a reasonable price than the one she currently had but nevertheless, she had not wanted to sell the machete Jakarn had given to her in Stros M'Kai. She dare not sell the weapon that had saved her from harm by stopping an arrow from piercing her when it had been hanging sheathed at her flank - or at least that was what she claimed herself to be the main reason to save that old machete...  
  
Linnea warmed her cold hands with her fire spell, and let her thoughts wander back to the Warrior's Festival's night. Later in the evening, she had gone to the Rosy Lion Inn to drink some warm spiced wine. She had not really known anyone in the inn besides the innkeeper, Gregoire Lafont; her acquaintances in the Mages Guild were more interested in their work and research than spending their time by going out and drinking wine, thus none of them had celebrated the Warrior's Festival with Linnea. She had sat at her table feeling a bit bored, considering whether she should go back to the guild hall or order another flask of spiced wine, when she had seen _him_ with his friends on the other side of the inn; it had been just before she had left for Stros M'Kai, when she last had seen that nice lad she had gotten acquainted with. He and his friends had settled themselves at the table near the fire place; Linnea had drunk the rest of her wine and gathered her courage to walk over to them and greet them. Just when she had stood up, she had seen a ghost-like figure floating in front of her. "What in Oblivion...I'm not _that_ drunk yet", she had thought when she had seen the Prophet. "Don’t worry, Vestige, no one else can see or hear me", the Prophet had stated to her when he had probably seen her standing there, staring at him rather confused. After a while, Linnea had recognised him, and remembered that he was the old man she had escaped with from Coldharbour. Linnea had not dared to reply him, since she had not wanted people to think that she was talking to herself. Thus, the Prophet had shortly explained his sudden, unexpected appear: "I've found us a safe place, the Harbourage". "It is located precisely here", he had continued, and marked the place to Linnea's map that she always carried with her. Then the Prophet had told Linnea that she should visit the Harbourage as soon as possible, since he had found a way to rescue Lyris Titanborn, the tall Nord woman that had taken the Prophet's place in Coldharbour in order to set him free, allowing him to escape.  
  
"Let’s go to the bloody Harbourage then!" had upset Linnea thought after the Prophet's projection had vanished into the thin air; surely he had not told her to go there _immediately_ but her courage and motivation to go talking to her old acquaintance had disappeared nevertheless. So, Linnea had dressed her winter cloak and left the inn at once. She had walked annoyed through the crowd and exited through the city gates; when a concerned city guard standing at his post had warned her that there might be wolves near the city, she had just smiled and told that it was a great thing, since she wanted to hit something, which most likely had left the man quite astonished.  
  
Despite the warning, Linnea had not seen any wolves but she only had heard their howling from a distance. Her breath had steamed in the frosty air, and her footprints had been the first ones left in the pristine snow that had covered the meadow, when she had stepped away from the road. Linnea's anger had subsided when she had walked to the Harbourage; after all, the Prophet's matter had been the most important, since their friend Lyris had been a prisoner in Coldharbour, and Linnea knew too well what that realm of Molag Bal could do to those that were captured there. The Prophet and Lyris had saved her from Coldharbour, and Linnea intended to do whatever it would take to assist them as best as she could.  
  
So, Linnea had finally found the Harbourage; it was an abandoned cave that had a rather well hidden entrance. Linnea had walked to the end of the cave, where she had met the Prophet in person; he was an old man who appeared to be a powerful mage. After they had presented themselves, the Prophet had told about his plan to save Lyris Titanborn but first he had explained - or rather shown the events as visions by allowing Linnea to enter his mind - how the Planemeld had started in the first place and about Mannimarco the traitor, who appeared to be behind it. The Prophet had also showed Linnea the past of the Five Companions, who were, Mannimarco naturally excluded, crucial in the coming efforts to try to stop it - together with Linnea, of course, he had told her. Lyris Titanborn was one of the Five Companions; the tall Nord woman was rumoured to have blood of the giants in her, and she was claimed to have been the greatest warrior in the service of the Empire.  
  
Then the Prophet had explained Lyris' current situation: Lyris had been held in the place called Foundry of Woe, and her soul had been in great danger, thus Linnea had had to get her out of Coldharbour as soon as possible. Linnea had gathered her wits, and entered the portal that the Prophet had opened for her, leading to that plane of Oblivion. Linnea still remembered how she had felt when she had arrived in that cruel, dead realm again - it had taken all of her willpower not to rush back at the portal to Nirn at once but to continue further and search for Lyris, instead. Soon she had found her standing in a corner; Lyris had looked so terrified and desperate that it had made Linnea focus completely on helping her, thus allowing herself to forget a great deal of her own anxiety. Lyris had told that the Daedra had broken her by ripping apart and fragmenting her memories and feelings that had now been locked away in the different parts of the Foundry of Woe. Lyris had known that in order to break free, she would have to retrieve those fragments - and to face even the most terrible memories of hers, which she considered to be impossible for her. Linnea had managed to convince her, though, that she could face them with her help, and so they had together gathered the fragments that were stolen from Lyris' mind, and fought their way through the obstacles the Daedra had tried to throw at them to slow them down and make them fall. Nevertheless, they had succeeded in escaping, and had travelled back to the Harborage through the portal. There Linnea had told the Prophet that during her mission, she had also seen two others of the Five Companions in Coldharbour: Abnur Tharn, whom Lyris had accused of being a traitor, and Sai Sahan, a Redguard warrior. The Prophet had promised to take care of Lyris, and he had also checked that Linnea was okay before letting her go; he had told that he would continue his work on planning how to rescue Sai Sahan and inform Linnea right away when her aid would be needed again.  
  
During their flight, Linnea had learned a lot about Lyris; she thought she had seen and heard too many too personal things of her that she never was supposed to find out but Lyris had appeared to be too confused and traumatized by the recent events she had experienced to care about it at all. More importantly, helping Lyris to regain her feelings and memories, thus helping her to escape from Coldharbour, had very painfully reminded Linnea of her own memories that were stolen from her - and of her soul that still remained in Coldharbour. First she had simply pushed away all the agonising thoughts. She had walked back to Daggerfall at the small hours - the time appeared to pass differently in Coldharbour, and it had felt like she had spent there many hours or even a day there, even though she had been absent only for a couple of hours - and headed back to the Rosy Lion Inn. There she had drank so much wine that she had passed out in the bed she had rented in the inn for that night; it had been late afternoon when she had woken up, feeling very sick and having a terrible headache. Also after that, she had tried to not to think about the things related to Coldharbour but they tended to turn her dreams into nightmares and invade her thoughts in the nights when she could not sleep - just like in that cold night of Evening Star.  
  
Linnea tried to stop thinking about those painful things; she turned her attention back to the night sky, and observed the fascinating events that slowly took place there night by night. Since it was the end of Evening Star, the reign of the Thief constellation would be over in any case; usually the Ritual constellation would take the dominant position when the season would change. Now though, the Thief seemed to run away from something else - the Serpent was chasing him in order to steal from the Thief his place as the ruler of the night sky. Thus, it seemed that instead of the Ritual constellation, the Serpent would rule the night sky for a while next - and then continue its endless wandering across the sky, finally giving the central position to the Ritual, to whom it really belonged in Morning Star.  
  
Linnea was interested in astronomy, especially in the stories told about the constellations and how the constellation under which sign a person was born, was told to affect their personality. If she knew someone's birth sign, she often amused herself by estimating if their sign matched their temperaments and life - it surprisingly often did - and if she did not know their sign, she tried to guess which it would be, according to their personality and behaviour. Lyris' sign could be the Lord, since in Linnea's opinions she appeared to be healthier and stronger than many others, Master Telleno's sign would probably be the Mage, Captain Kaleen might be born under the Warrior's sign - and Jakarn's sign would either be the Lover or the Thief.  
  
Linnea took the tea cup and walked down the stairs. She had an idea what she would do during this sleepless night; she walked to the large library and started to look for entertaining books about the Constellations and the phenomena in the night sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter there'll be more social interactions, OCs and relationships in my story.


	9. Dangerous Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea meets her old acquaintance again.

Linnea yawned and closed her eyes for a moment. She was standing at the alchemy laboratory, waiting for the mixture she was preparing, to warm up to the appropriate temperature in the distilling flask. She had not slept very well last night, so she felt tired and exhausted. Luckily she did not find the tasks Master Telleno had given her, very challenging; she wondered if he had noticed her recent tiredness but at least she had not made noticeable mistakes in her alchemy work. When the distillation process was complete, she took the solution, and poured it into a little red potion, and labelled it ‘ _Restore Health’._  
  
She finished the tasks Master Telleno had given her for that day, thus she gave him the completed potions and prepared reagents, and asked: "By the way, do you happen to have any nightshade to sell?" "Possibly, how much would you want to buy then?" he replied. "It depends on the price, I'd buy it with 1 000 gold, if it's okay," Linnea told her offer. "Well, well, who are you planning to poison?" the Master Alchemist asked surprised. "Myself, of course," Linnea replied smirkingly but instantly regretted it, when she saw the both curious and concerned look on her Master's face; she often could not tell whether he was being sarcastic or not, moreover she rarely was sure if he had understood that she was only joking. "Sounds definitely like that if you are going to buy that much nightshade for your own use. You know that it is a wicked plant, potentially lethal in surprisingly small amounts, don't you?" the Master wondered. "No worries, I would not use it all at once, just filling my supplies of it, of course...and besides, I've used it as a sedative so long that I have gained rather high tolerance to it," Linnea tried to reassure him but he replied to her upset: "You are a smart alchemist, and also a healer, so you should know better. Nightshade should only be used for a short period of time for insomnia, if at all!" "Yes, I know that but my problems are exceptionally severe, so this is for the best - " she tried to explain but was interrupted: "Yes, they must be, that is what everyone misusing nightshade obviously claims. You should do something on your free time, like going out with your friends, that's probably what people at your age do! Then you would not have all that time to spend with your thoughts that would prevent you from sleeping, naturally." "And how do you know that I don't go out?" Linnea questioned reservedly. "Well, if you did, you would not have so much gold for buying nightshade... I don't pay you _that_ well," he explained, and continued: "Besides, were you not a battlemage? I guess that kind of types don't usually feel so well by spending all days indoors. You still have a book to find for Valaste, I think. What if you finally started doing that job, so that book-hoarding librarian would be pleased for a while, too? And, while you are at it, bring me the mushrooms you can find in that ruin, Silumm...and that is all for now."  
  
As she cleaned the alchemy laboratory after her working day, she thought about their conversation. The Master Alchemist had a point; she had also been thinking about those matters herself, besides she was worried that she was getting out of shape after spending such a long time working only indoors. She took off her white apron and folded it onto the alchemy table. Then she took some leftover potions of restoring health and magicka from a shelf; tomorrow she would go to Silumm, and she wanted to be sure that she had enough of them while exploring the ruins.  
  
Linnea took off her winter cloak, and left it near the entrance of Silumm; even though it was winter time, the temperature inside that old, abandoned Ayleid ruin was higher than outdoors. She felt a bit nervous, even though she did not anticipate facing anything too dangerous in the ruins, and she was well prepared; she had checked her gear properly before leaving the city, and she had announced about her expedition to her fellow guild members, following the protocol of the Mages Guild. Thus, she proceeded further into the ancient Ayleid constructions; the air felt heavy and dusty, and it was so silent that she could hear her own breathing, and even her heart beating. She admired the unique architecture of the place; even though its original dwellers had been gone for such a long time, the ruins appeared to be relatively well preserved. Linnea thought about the Ayleids that had once lived there, a long time ago - she was ashamed of how little she knew about their history. They were also known as Wild Elves, and they had been the first race to establish an empire in Tamriel. They originally had come from the Summerset Isles, where High Elves lived now.  
  
The book-searching mission in Silumm had gone better than Linnea had expected. She had already found three ancient-looking books which also appeared to be somehow different from other old books she had seen, and she had not faced too challenging enemies in the ruins. The only hostile creatures she had seen - or that had noticed her and attacked on her - had been giant spiders. Linnea was grateful for the fact that she had not bumped into anything more difficult to deal with; those spiders had been an excellent target to practice destructive spells on, and to refresh her fighting skills. Moreover, she had gathered some eggs from their nests, and she was going to give them to the Master Alchemist, in addition the mushrooms she had picked for him; maybe they could be used in alchemy. Linnea thought that she had already found every book worth finding in that ruin, when she saw a fourth book that looked similar to the other three she had already found. On the cover of the book, there was written its name ‘ _Summoning rituals of the Arch-Mage’_ , and it had obviously been written by the Arch-Mage Shalidor himself. Linnea grabbed it but accidentally dropped it immediately, startled by a strange voice that started to speak to her; she instantly unsheathed her machete and was prepared to cast a destructive spell on the possible enemy. She turned around and noticed, though, that the source of the voice did not seem to be hostile - it was an ethereal projection of an old man dressed in mage robes. The man, not at all disturbed by Linnea's defensive reaction, presented himself as the Arch-Mage Shalidor from the First Era, and told her that she should return the book she had just found, to Valaste, and that "fire would show the words".  
  
Linnea took her cloak from where she had left it and departed the ruins; it was already evening and the sun had just sunk beyond the horizon. As she walked back to the city, she thought about her encounter with Arch-Mage Shalidor, and realised that the situation greatly reminded her of her first interactions with the Prophet, on Tamriel; apparently it was some kind of custom among the master mages to communicate via projections. Then an unnerving thought came to her mind - what if those projections had not been real but only created by her own mind? Linnea had heard about men and mer, who had claimed to be cursed by Sheogorath - the Daedric Prince of Madness - that were talking to themselves all days long, apparently seeing or hearing things nobody else did. Now that she came to think about it, nobody else had ever appeared to have seen or heard the projections of the Prophet or the Arch-Mage, besides her. Neither had anyone ever visited Harbourage with her - what if that place was nothing more than an empty cave, instead of a safe base for the Prophet, Lyris and herself? Besides, Linnea knew that mages were commonly considered a bit strange - if not even crazy sometimes - among the common people. Moreover, concerning the most talented and famous of the mages, the border zone between madness and ingeniousness was very narrow in some cases. The fear of being insane grew larger in her mind, as Linnea thought about the matter further: it was definitely not normal that she did not remember anything from her past before being imprisoned in Coldharbour - if any of that really had happened – besides, the constant use of Nightshade could also have affected her psyche in a harmful way...  
  
Linnea had been so lost in her dark thoughts that she had not noticed where she had walked, until she accidentally bumped into someone, literally. "Hey, watch it... ehm, everything all right, Miss? Oh, Stendarr's Mercy, it's you, Linnea, after such a long time! Why do you look so concerned?" a familiar voice awakened her from her thoughts. _"By the Eight, it's him!"_ Linnea thought, when she saw Aleksei, the guard she had gotten friends with, before she had travelled to Stros M'Kai, and she was rather embarrassed by her clumsiness but also very happy to see him again. "I-I'm so sorry, so terribly clumsy of me!" she apologised, and explained: "I was just thinking about some stuff...nothing so severe, only mage things." "Oh, that's alright, no need to apologize at all! I didn't know you're back in Daggerfall," he replied. "Yep, I came back here from Stros M'Kai in Sun's Dusk but I have mostly spent my time in the Mages Guild, working with alchemy as Master Telleno's assistant, so I haven't been going out very much lately," she told him. "You're also an alchemist, then? That's fascinating!" he was a bit surprised. "I am. It is interesting in its own way, indeed. Mostly it is not that exciting, though: unless I go gathering the reagents and solvents, my work includes only spending days indoors at the alchemy lab," she claimed. "Well, if you feel like you'd like to have something else to do tonight, to go out for example, my shift would end soon..." he suggested. "That would be lovely!" Linnea replied smilingly; her mood had suddenly become much better, and she was not so agonized by the unnerving thoughts she had been thinking about.  
  
Linnea had taken the books she had found to her room; she had planned to give them to Valaste, and tell about the Arch-Mage's appearance in the next day. She stood at the bridge near the Daggerfall Marketplace, where they had planned to meet, and noticed that he was approaching. She felt nervous - but in a positive way so, for a change. They both seemed to think by themselves, whether they should greet again in some way - perhaps even by hugging each other - or not, and eventually they ended up standing awkwardly silent for a while, until he broke the silence: "So, what were you doing in Stros M'kai, then?" "Returning a favour to my friend, who had been having troubles there," Linnea explained as they began to stroll, and started to tell about her travels there, and in Betnikh, too - without going into all unnecessary details - but then told: "Hey, that Nirnroot under the bridge distracts me a bit...could I go picking it or could we at least move a little bit away from it?" "Oh, surely, why not - but how can you know that there's a Nirnroot, there?" he wondered. "By its sound, of course..." she explained but then realised: "...oh my, you can't hear it, can you?" "Nope", he replied, thought for a short while, and then said: "Maybe it's some kind of alchemist or mage thing, then...spells and such have never been what I'm good at." "Really, it's there, I'm not imagining things, or anything like that. Let's go there, so I can show it to you," she told, and thought by herself: _"Oh, great, now he must think that I am insane!"_ But he just smiled, not startled at all, and replied that of course they could go picking it, if it was that important to her; he found it cute that it mattered so much to his date.  
  
"It is there, indeed, look!" Linnea shouted, being clearly relieved that they had actually found it. The small river was not completely frozen, and on the edge of the icy and snowy ground, despite the cold winter time, there grew a Nirnroot. "And do you also see that it is -" "Glowing? Yes, of course I do. Everyone knows that they glow in the dark, that's why those luna moths and torchbugs like them so much," he assured her; he had noticed that she had been upset by the fact that he did not hear the noise she claimed that plant was causing. His sister and many of his relatives from his father's side were magically talented, so he had gotten used to their uncommon abilities and ways to observe things; however, his date seemed to be quite insecure about her obviously magic-related experiences. Linnea carefully took the plant, cleaned it a bit in the chilling water, dried it with her fire spell and put it into her little alchemist satchel. Then she noticed something closer to the bridge, and went to take a look at it: "Come here!" she shouted - there was someone lying there, partially in the ice-cold water. They dragged the person onto the solid ground; Linnea started examining him, and then cast a healing spell on the lifeless man but it had no response. It confirmed what she had suspected: "He is dead, I can't save him," she explained to Aleksei. She examined the corpse further, trying to determine who he had been, and what had caused his death; his chest had been stabbed multiple times, which appeared to be the cause of his death. She found a note, and was just about to tell about it, when her date suddenly shouted her: "Stay down!" and drew his sword just in time to block a strike that could have caused severe damage to her. Then Linnea saw the assassin behind her; before she could have reacted to the situation in any way, he had eliminated the threat, and the assassin lay dead on the ground.  
  
They stared shocked at the assassin's dead body for a moment, without saying a word, and then she asked: "Are you alright? Do you have any injuries I should take care of?" "No I'm fine...It's just that...I've never killed anyone before," he replied after a while. "You work in the City Guard but you have never killed anybody?" she was surprised. "We don't exactly slaughter the citizens there. I have only had to make arrests, and usually people understand to surrender without putting up too much of a fight," he explained. "Well, this bitch did not seem like she would have surrendered in any case," she told, and continued: "It seems that she was one of the Bloodthorn Cultists. I ran into them in Betnikh, they tried to take control there, they're bandit scum. I had no idea that they have come to Daggerfall, though." "Do you have any clue why that assassin attacked on you?" he asked concerned. She thought for a moment, and then replied: "Well, after our actions in Betnikh, I think they'd certainly want me dead but I don't think it's about that this time. If they really had wanted to kill me, they would have had plenty of better opportunities to do it during the time I've spent here. So, she most likely attacked on me because we found this corpse, I bet this murder was also their doing." Then she remembered: "Hey, I found a note on that man’s corpse." "Grocer - three blood oranges, Tailor - crescent emblem cloak, Florist - black roses with thorns," he read aloud, and deduced: "So, it's some kind of shopping list." "More likely it is some kind of secret code - I've seen people using this kind of codes before. Maybe we should go talk to the grocer first," she suggested.  
  
The grocer had first stated that he did not want any troubles but had then reluctantly explained them that _three blood oranges_ was a phrase the King's intelligent network used when someone was going to get killed, and had mentioned a man called Roy. Then they had gone to see the florist. She had told them that probably dark magic was involved in the mystery in some way, and based on what she had told about Roy, they had understood that the body they had found, was him, and he had been a spy; their conversation with the tailor had confirmed their theory. Then Aleksei had stated that he should report what they had found out to his superiors, and so they went to see Captain Aresin, the leader of the Daggerfall City Guard.


	10. Bloodthorn Assassins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea uncovers an assassination plot against King Casimir, who is the king of Daggerfall, and a battle between Bloodthorns and King Casimir's forces takes place in the castle of Daggerfall.

"Sir, I am here to report of a murder in Daggerfall City. We found a man called Roy dead near the bridge leading to the market place. Then an assassin attacked on this lady, and I had to kill the attacker in order to protect her. We found this note from the corpse," Aleksei reported to Captain Aresin, and gave him the note. The Captain appeared to be extremely worried about the news and about the information he had read in the note, and replied: "Roy's dead? Oh Mara's hands! So, the list in this note is our code, it says that someone that is using dark magic, is going to kill a member of the royal Casimir family...but who? I need to know more!" "I think the assassin who tried to kill me, was a Bloodthorn cultist, probably that bitch had also murdered Roy!" Linnea explained, and having seen her friend's shocked expression, apparently due to her way to speak to his superior, she clumsily added "...ehm, Mister Captain-sir." "How did you recognise her to be a part of that... Bloodthorn cult?" the Captain asked, not bothered at all by her way to speak to him. "Well, I've ran into them before. They had been causing trouble in Betnikh," she explained, and then, to their surprise, she spontaneously suggested: "I could get more information about the situation." "How would you do that?" the Captain asked her. "Let's say that I've got some experience of subtly acquiring necessary information," she explained. "I could assist her, sir," Aleksei proposed. "I would usually not let a stranger investigate this kind of matter but with Roy dead, it seems that I've got no other options. Very well, then. Go talk to Grenna gra-Kush at the Rosy Lion Inn; she'll know what to do," the Captain told them.  
  
So, they entered The Rosy Lion Inn, and went to talk to Grenna, an Orc woman, who was drinking mead near the fireplace. "Captain Aresin sent us. Roy uncovered an assassin plot," Linnea stated to her. "By Malacath! Roy stepped on a nest of snakes this time. One of the vipers is upstairs. He might know something. I'd confront him, but he knows me. Maybe a stranger like you can get him to talk," Grenna suggested. "OK, I'll try to get some useful information out of him," Linnea said, and told to Aleksei: "I think it's best that you wait here with her. It's easier for me to work alone when I want to make someone speak." "Great. Find the man, Leveque, and rattle his teeth, but don't kill him. We may need him later. Just don't mention me. I'm not an agent of the crown. I'm just an Orc enjoying her ale," Grenna instructed her. Linnea nodded to her, and left the room. While she was walking up the stairs, she tried to figure out in advance, how to persuade the Bloodthorn Cultist revealing what he knew. She also made sure that she could draw her machete extremely quickly, if the situation would require that.  
  
Soon she saw a Breton man that had to be Leveque, standing in a room upstairs - and then she saw the Bloodthorn Cultist that was probably guarding him. This time she was better prepared to face the enemy; having seen the man first, she had the head start in the coming fight. Thus, she drew out her weapon, rushed at him, and successfully dealt the first strike of the battle; the Bloodthorn Cultist swore, as her machete cut a wound to his shoulder. However, that was not even close enough to end the battle, thus they ended up in a melee combat. Leveque, who did not look like a capable fighter, obviously did not want to meddle in, and only watched their fighting from aside. Linnea successfully blocked the first blows of the cultist’s sword but soon she noticed that he was far better with the blade than she was, so she could not win this physical combat; however, she wanted to avoid using destructive spells, since they could accidentally hit Leveque, thus killing her potential source of information. Surprisingly, she did not feel any fear - rather it felt like she was only watching herself from a distance, as if it was someone else than her, that was potentially losing the combat with a Bloodthorn Cultist. Then an idea came to her mind; she had never actually tried "combat healing" in action but she considered trying it worth the risk, and changed her fighting tactics. Instead of trying to avoid all of her enemy's strikes, she would now block only the heaviest of them, and the ones that were aimed to her head or neck; she assumed that the preventive, constant stream of healing she would cast, would protect her from severe damage.  
  
Thus, she dropped her defensive postures with her weapon to the minimum rate, and with her other hand, she subtly cast healing on her. Her strategy appeared to work out as she had planned, since she did not feel any pain despite the blows she got on her - unless it was only because of the adrenaline running in her bloodstream. In any case, now that she did not have to focus on blocking so every sword strike, she got the chance she had hoped for - to deal real damage to her enemy. She hit to his groins with her machete, and the pain was intensive enough to get him onto his knees. She granted him a swift end, by cutting his throat; she had just run out of the magicka. She drank one of her healing potions, in case that she had internal bleeding that she would not notice immediately. Then she turned her attention to Leveque, who was seemingly terrified of what he had just witnessed, and cried out to her: "You don't think I had anything to do with that, do you?" Linnea used his fear as her advantage, and proposed him: "I'm willing to overlook all this in exchange for some information." He agreed to tell everything he knew, to her; he told that Martine Lerineaux, who lived next to the inn, had hired him, and had wanted him to make a map of the tunnels leading to the Daggerfall Castle. However, he claimed to have no idea of anything else connected to it, and that he had done it all only because he had desperately needed the gold he was promised to get from it. She smiled at him far too politely, while promising him that if he had not told her the whole truth, she would find it out, and next time they met, she would not be that merciful to him. However, now he would still have a chance to tell her if he knew anything more about the matter. Still, the man claimed that he knew nothing more, which she considered to most likely be the case.  
  
"Stendarr's Mercy, Linnea, you have blood all over you! Are you alright? What happened there, are you injured?" Aleksei asked appalled. "Nope, I'm alright...but mister Lafont will probably kill me, when he sees the mess I left in one room of his inn," she smirked, took a wipe from Gregoire Lafont, who was wiping the table nearby them, and cleaned her face and her weapon from the blood with it. The innkeeper laughed at her joke but he wondered what in Oblivion had just happened in his inn. He considered about calling the City Guard for help. On the other hand, one of them was already there with that blood-stained lass and the Orc woman, obviously involved in the matter, so he thought it would be best if he did not interfere in any way. "Did you kill Leveque?" Grenna asked in a disappointed tone, assuming that she did, despite her orders. "No, he is unharmed, he had some protection - a Bloodthorn bastard - that I had to deal with," Linnea explained her. "Oh, I see. It's best that I take care of cleaning the room," Grenna told to the innkeeper, who felt very relieved by the fact that he did not have to get involved in the matter in any way. "Linnea, really, are you alright? You just killed someone, didn't you, doesn't that make you feel upset?" her concerned friend asked again. "Don't worry, I'm fine, really," she assured him, and explained: "This is not the first time I've killed my enemy, so killing them doesn’t make me feel upset anymore." In fact, she had never felt anything when she had eliminated her foes - no fear, regrets, sorrow, or pity - she had just done what she had had to in those situations, and then continued her life without thinking about it any longer.  
  
"So, Leveque gave Martine Lerineaux information about the secret tunnels to the Daggerfall Castle," Linnea told them what she had found out, after the innkeeper had moved away from them to serve a customer. "Martine the merchant? We need to know everything! Get inside Lerineaux's manor. Look for anything that can shed light on what they're planning. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Leveque, so take anything you find straight to Captain Aresin," Grenna asked them. "I think you should wait here, while I investigate the manor," Linnea suggested to Aleksei. "Why? I don't like the idea of letting you go there on your own," he protested. "This has to be taken care of discreetly. Don't you think that a city guard entering that manor, could draw too much unwanted attention, and possibly scare the target?" she explained, continuing: "Besides, it's Fredas night, soon the inn is going to be full of drunken customers. I think you should keep watch here, in case some Bloodthorn cultists will try to cause havoc here. He reluctantly admitted that she had a good point there, and so she left the inn, and started her next mission.

Linnea picked the lock and sneaked into the manor; she immediately saw that it was occupied by Bloodthorn cultists. Two of them were standing next to the door but they had not seen her yet, so she eliminated them one by one, muffling them by covering their mouth with one hand, and cutting their throat with her dagger in her other hand. Then she threw a shower of burning spears of sunlight, formed of her magicka, towards the four Bloodthorns that were sitting at a table, focused on playing card. Her spell staggered them, thus they were unable to fight against her, and she finished them with the incinerating balls of sun fire. Then she searched through the downstairs but found nothing useful there, so she walked upstairs. She was pleased that she had come there alone; now she could try to move in stealth without anyone spoiling her sneaking attempts, and more importantly, she could freely use her spells, not having to fear that they would cause collateral damage to her friends and allies.   
  
On the second floor, she saw no more Bloodthorn cultists - there was only the owner of the manor, Martine Lerineaux, standing there. He saw her, and told her: "You broke into the wrong house this time, burglar," and unsheathed his sword and dagger. Linnea understood that he would be willing to neither surrender, nor discuss with her, so she also prepared for the coming duel. He looked very capable in a proximal combat, so Linnea chose to fight him from a distance, using all the space of the second floor in her advantage - she did not even let the man close to her but threw her spells at him from a distance. He was surprisingly agile, and dodged and blocked most of them but she managed to deal some damage to him, nevertheless; the burns her spells caused to him, started to hinder him to some extent. "Come here, let's fight properly... or are you a coward, ha?" he tried to manipulate her getting closer to him so that he could strike properly. "I'm no coward... just a spellsword that is going to win this combat with her superior fighting skills," she yelled back, and smiled coldly to him. Then she finally succeeded to impale him with her magical aurora javelin, and he fell lifeless to the ground.  
  
Linnea examined the pockets of Martine Lerineaux, and found a note there. It was a letter from someone called Verrik, and told about the Bloothorn Cult's plan to capture Daggerfall City; they planned to ship cargo to the city, and inside of the crates, there would be their agents hiding, ready to strike when the time would be most appropriate for it. Their next step would be to go through the secret tunnels to the castle, and assassinate King Casimir - after the leader of Daggerfall would be eliminated, they anticipated that it would be easy for them to take over the city. Linnea ran back to the inn, and told to Aleksei and Grenna about the plan of the Bloodthorns that she had just discovered. They thought that it would be best that Linnea and her friend immediately reported about what they had found out to Captain Aresin, and Grenna would stay in the inn, guarding Leveque.

"King Casimir is the target...sir! There are assassins hiding in the cargo of a ship," Linnea told to the Captain what she had just found out. "His Lordship? Keep this quiet or we'll never find the assassins in time. Divines help us if the King is killed. It could destroy the alliance!" the Captain let them know the worst case scenario. "Here is the letter telling about their plan," she added, and gave the letter to him. He took the paper, thought for a while, and then gave his orders: "Alright, ehm -" "Linnea," she told her name, and he continued: "right, Linnea, you go to the docks, and investigate the ships, especially the ones that have come recently there." Then he turned to look at her friend; the Captain knew that despite not being the most experienced guard in their ranks, he was reported to be one of the most talented and promising men in the City Guard. "And you Aleksei, go to the castle, discreetly inform your comrades about the situation, and do your best protecting the King," he commanded him. "Yes, sir!" he replied; he was startled because this time they would get on separate missions with her but he had to obey the orders given to him.

At the Daggerfall City docks, Linnea found out about the recently arrived ships; according to the guards patrolling the docks, one of them contained "fragile items" in the crates, and that one got her suspicious. She casually walked towards it; in her simple, light-armoured mage robes, she probably looked enough like a common citizen who had just come to breathe some fresh sea air and have a break from the buzzling inn. She stopped for a while, and looked into the horizon; the sea was only frozen from the shore, since the warmer currents from the coasts of Hammerfell kept it from freezing even during the coldest winters. She shivered a bit from cold; the winter winds blew from the sea. She did not dare to use her flame spell to warm her hands, though, since she did not want to draw any attention to herself. She looked around to make sure that there was no one else there besides her, and entered the suspicious ship in unnoticed.  
  
Inside, she found the crates that had warnings of _fragile contents_ written on them. She smiled and laughed silently; those milk drinking Bloodthorn bastards were fragile weaklings, indeed, she thought to encourage herself. She walked away from the crate, sprinted towards it and kicked it violently. Soon after that, a confused Bloodthorn assassin jumped out; it was easy for Linnea to finish her off. Then she inspected the other crates - they were empty! She understood that the assassination attempt of the King was already taking place, thus the Bloodthorns were probably already in the castle. So, she left the ship, and ran there. Now her priority would be to defend her King - and to protect a certain guard lad who was also there, protecting the King...

She had been right; inside the castle, there was already a full fight going on between the Bloodthorn Cultists and King's bodyguards who had assistance from the few men that were from the City Guard. It appeared that her allies were outnumbered by the bandits, thus she joined the fight against the Bloodthorns, while trying to find the King - and Aleksei. "Who's that woman... and what in Oblivion is she doing here?" one of the guards asked aloud, wondering how they should deal with Linnea. After a while, one of his comrades replied him: " She's... the one they claim to have destroyed a whole Dark Anchor all by herself. And she clearly seems to be fighting on our side, so let's be grateful for that!" "Where's the King... I'm here to protect the king!" Linnea shouted to them over the noise of the battle. "In the throne room," a guard replied her, hoping that his comrade was right about her.  
  
She headed towards the throne room; it had to be the large, open area next to the hallway. She pushed herself through the fighting people, dodging the sword swings and spells coming towards her, using healing on herself, and also on her allies. She got into her destination and Aleksei and the King fighting there; she was extremely relieved that they both were still alive. From the distance, she saw the severity of the situation; the last of the King's personal bodyguards just died, while finishing two of the Bloodthorns, so only her friend, and the King were alive there. Soon, the Bloodthorns would make their way to the throne room, and they would be greatly outnumbered. She quickly got to them, and warned: "We have to leave at once, or we will be cornered here. Do you know where we could escape?" "We should probably get to the western side wing of the castle but we would have to take the risk, and pass through the fight to get there," the King replied. "I'll heal you, it should prevent damage to some extend... stay low, watch for the blows, and we should be able to pass the crowds unharmed," she explained.  
  
They made their way to the side wing but the Bloodthorns had already occupied it; also their leader appeared to be there, as if he had been waiting for the King to come there, however the cultists had not noticed them yet. Linnea knew that the odds were against them, indeed. No matter how skilled warriors her friend and the King would be, she could only heal them until she would run out of magicka, and then it all would be over for them. Moreover, she could not use her best destructive spells because of the probable collateral damage to her allies - unless she could get them out of the situation. "They always want to eliminate the mages first. I'll draw their attention to myself with my spells, and you take the King out of here, try to go unnoticed," she whispered to her friend but he objected: "No, I'll stay with you." "Go with the King. I can't use the most destructive spells if there are allies nearby," she explained. "I won't leave the girl I love, fighting here alone," he answered her, getting her confused for a moment but then she snapped at him purposefully rudely: "Remember the bloody orders you got from the Captain? Protect the damn King!" He was facing the most difficult choice he had had to make so far. He really loved her, despite the fact that they had known each other for such a short time - but she was right, he had the responsibility to defend the King. The uniform he was wearing, strongly reminded him of his role as the protector of the Daggerfall City and its ruler, thus helping him to settle back to his role as the guard, instead of an individual person with his own interests.  
  
Linnea rushed forward, and started to throw spears and balls of sunlight towards the Bloodthorn cultists; many of them fell to her spells or got staggered, however, their leader appeared to be better armoured and also more resistant against her magic. As soon as Linnea noticed that her allies had managed to escape from there, she started to prepare casting the spell she thought to be her best and only change to survive. Many of the cultists were still alive, even though being temporarily unable to fight - soon they would get up and be ready for the battle again - and their leader appeared to be in full health, trying to execute her with his heavy sword attacks.

She had dodged one of those strikes by rolling aside just in time, so that he had smashed his sword into a wooden shelf instead of her, and she had gained time to run to the opposite side of the room and start casting the spell there. She had not practised it very much but it felt as if someone else was inside of her -controlling her - knowing exactly what she should do. The spell was a very powerful one, and therefore it required more time to be cast - but her enemy had already gotten his sword unstuck, and started to rush at her again. She felt the pain, when his sword pierced her abdomen but she could cast the spell, nevertheless; its energy caused a massive explosion, which killed everyone in the room - besides her - and made the ground tremble, dropping all the items from the shelves and tables.  
  
Linnea lay on the floor, and saw the blood streaming from the wound. She took all the health and magicka restoring potions that she had with her, drank the magicka ones and half of the health ones, and poured the rest of them directly into the laceration to reduce the bleeding. She started to channel healing on herself but the massive spell she had just cast, had drained out all of her magicka so that it regenerated extremely slowly, despite the magicka potions that she had just consumed; at least she could keep herself alive for some time. She wondered if her friend and the King had survived, and what would happen to her next. She felt no fear, and she was not afraid of dying - and maybe all this had just been a dream, from which she would soon wake up. Then, from distance, she heard the desperate shouting of the Bloodthorn Cultists, and a familiar voice rallying his forces - Captain Aresin had arrived in the castle with reinforcements, finally, and his troops were apparently getting rid of the cultists. Soon she also heard another familiar voice saying terrified: "Oh dear Gods, Linnea, you're badly injured," and shouting for the healers; Aleksei had come back to her. He took off his bracer and tried to staunch the bleeding by pressing it against her wound but then he started to feel dizzy and the world around him blackened - and he fainted.  
  
Linnea woke up, and noticed that she was lying on a fancy bed, covered by soft and warm blankets; she looked around and saw that she was in an elegant, decorated room. She got up, feeling weak and lightheaded, and noticed that she had a bandage around her upper abdominal region. She did not feel any pain, though, and when she looked under the bandage, at the region to where she had got injured, she noticed a wound that had been suturated well. "Oh look, sir, she's waking up now," she heard her friend's voice telling. "Well, it was about time that you got up, lass. The healers did exellent job with you… but mind the stitches!" Captain Aresin told her. "I'm so happy to see you made it out alive, I love you! I... fell in love with you in the very first time we met," she happily declared to her friend, clearly being still very dazed by the narcotic substances the healers had obviously used on her. "By the way, did our King also survive?" she asked. "I...I love you too, dear. The King made it out safely, his royal highness is fine," Aleksei replied her, and blushed heavily; it was clearly too awkward for him to speak like that, when his superior was around. The Captain smiled at them; he clearly did his best in order not to burst into laughter, and told: "Alright, you two, you'd better get prepared for a visitor. The King wants to greet the new officer in our ranks, and the stranger who risked her life to save him." Then he saw the astonished look on the young guard's face, and told him: "That's right, you just got promoted. I also give you a couple of extra days off. Come to meet me on Tirdas, and we'll get the necessities concerning your promotion sorted out then." "Yes sir. Thank you, sir!" he replied, and barely understood what the Captain had just told him.

Linnea sat on the bed, resting her back against the pillows. Aleksei brought her a goblet full of fresh water, and shortly explained her what had happened. He had gotten the King out of the castle, met the Captain's troops outside and told them what he had known about the situation. Some of the Captain's men had taken care of the King; they had taken him to a safe place, where the rest of the royal family had already been waiting. Then he had returned to the castle, looking for her, and had found her bleeding on the floor, and he had shouted for help - he did not mention the part when he had fainted - and the healers had come to help her. They had given her the first aid, and when the situation had calmed down in the castle, they had taken her into a room where they had been treating the injured soldiers; then they had carried her to the bed where she had woken up in.  
  
Soon they heard someone knocking on the door, and the King entered the room. Linnea noticed how her friend saluted him, and tried to do the same but instantly fell back onto the bed when she tried to get up. "Wow, just take it easy now, you have just started recovering. No need to be so formal now," the King told her when he saw her attempts to greet him in the proper way. "I am here to thank you both for saving my life today. I should have listened to my advisors, and left the castle when my family did but I was too proud and stubborn for that, and it nearly costed my life," he explained. "Here, this is for the youngest officer we have ever had in the Daggerfall City Guard," the King told, and gave Aleksei a medal of honour, and shook his hand, and then told to Linnea: "I would also promote you but you apparently do not work in the City Guard." "No I don't," she replied. "Well, we would like to have someone like you working for us, indeed. Therefore, I have a suggestion for you: you could continue Roy's work, if you are interested in becoming a part of the King's intelligent network," the King proposed her. "That'd be an honour, sir... King. But I've been thinking... I'd like to ask if I rather could become some sort of...mercenary...working for you and for the Daggerfall Covenant, going to missions when problems occur. I don't think I'd have the patience required to the long-term reconnaissance work," she made her own suggestion. "Very well, then. In my opinions, that sounds like an exellent idea, we do not have anyone doing that kind of work yet but soon we will have," the King declared. "And, of course, I will give you a reward for your heroic deeds today. I heard this young gentleman and Captain Aresin astonishingly talking about your weapon, and wondering how you could even have eliminated your enemies with it; by their discussion, I understood that it is a rusty, old machete. That would be such an inappropriate weapon for someone working for the King, thus I grant you a new sword from my personal armoury," he continued, and gave Linnea an elegant, new steel sword, with the Crescent Moon symbol carved on its hilt. "Thank you, sir," she replied. Then the King left the room; he ordered that Linnea would stay in the castle, until she would be fully recovered, and that his new officer's first mission would be to take care of her until then, winking to him, while saying so.  
  
Thus, they were left alone in the room; Linnea and Aleksei would apparently have a lot to discuss of. However, she felt still very weak, thus he helped her back to bed, and stayed watching for her, when she fell back asleep.


	11. Old Acquaintances in a Strange Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea decides to help Arch Mage Shalidor with his endeavour. She travels to an unfamiliar place and meets old acquaintances there.

Aleksei looked at Linnea, who was sleeping soundly in their bed. He did not want to wake her up, now that she finally appeared to be resting peacefully, thus he tried to do his morning routines as quietly as possible. In the night, she had again slept very restlessly; she had screamingly woken up from a nightmare, and it had taken him rather long time to help her to calm down, by assuring her that it had only been a bad dream which had made her so anxious. He had no idea of what her nightmares were about; he only knew that she had them regularly. Maybe they had something to do with what had happened in the castle, when she had saved the King's life; she had been severely injured then, and she had only narrowly survived. That had probably shocked her, even though she always claimed that she was just fine, and was not interested in discussing with him, about what had happened back then. During his military training, he had learnt that recurrent nightmares after a battle were a sign that a soldier had been in a too frightening situation, and that he had been pushed close to his breaking point. Therefore, Linnea's reluctance to talk with him about the events that had taken place in the castle of Daggerfall during that night, concerned him greatly.

He combed his hair, tied it into a tidy ponytail and shaved at the water basin that stood in a corner of their room. Then he put his new armour on, left the room and went downstairs to have some breakfast, and to hear the report from a guard on the night shift, before joining the other officers in their morning meeting. After his promotion, he had received additional training for his new position but he had still many things to learn. Thus, he felt somewhat insecure in his new duty. Of course, he had wished that one day he would become an officer but he could never have imagined getting a promotion for several more years; now he was clearly the youngest officer in the Daggerfall City Guard. Fortunately, the other officers acted very politely and encouragingly towards him.

Besides the promotion he had gotten, there had also been another major change in his life recently - now he and Linnea lived together, sharing the same room in the quarters of the castle, where the officers and their families lived. Despite the fact that they had known each other for such a short time, he was happy that he was now living together with his girlfriend - and since he was so in love with her, it did not even appear to disturb him that he actually knew very little about her and her past.

Everything had happened so fast after that evening when he had met her again, and they had discovered the plot of the Bloodthorn Cultists and saved King Casimir. After Linnea had recovered from her injuries, Captain Aresin had stated that it would not be safe for her to live in the Mages Guild's headquarters anymore; he feared that the Bloodthorns would try to take revenge against her for ruining their plans to kill the King and capture the city. Even though they had tried to keep quiet about what had happened when those bandits had attacked to the castle, the rumours had started to spread quickly; soon everyone in the city had known about the young guard lad - but especially about the mysterious mage lass - who had saved the King's life with their heroic actions. At first, Linnea had strongly objected to the idea of moving to the officers' quarters, claiming that she would not need any kind of protection. However, the Captain had managed to talk sense into her by explaining that unless she stayed vigilant every night, she would be a ridiculously easy target for an assassin - and surely she would have to sleep sometimes. Thus, Linnea had moved there with him; somehow they had ended up sharing the room, even though they were not even engaged, at least not yet.

It was almost afternoon, when Linnea woke up. She forced herself to get up from the bed, got dressed and ready for the coming day. Then she fetched some black coffee and a slice of freshly baked bread from the kitchen of the castle, to have them for her breakfast. Today she would do the laundry and then go to finish the tasks Master Telleno had given her for this week. Now she worked only as a part-time apprentice for him, and she had also gotten more freedom to do what interested her most. Thus, she did now the basic alchemy work only to keep her skills from getting rusty; she mainly assisted the Master Alchemist with his research. He was interested in the alchemical potential and properties of the spider eggs, after she had brought some of them for him from Silumm. She was especially glad that her tasks frequently involved acquiring more of them - it meant that she had a reason to go exploring outside the city walls more often.

In the city of Daggerfall, almost everyone seemed to recognise her these days. Soon after she and Aleksei had saved the King, people had started to treat her as some kind of hero of Daggerfall; many citizens greeted her when she passed by them, and some just stared at her as if she had suddenly become some kind of highborn noble woman, whose life everyone was interested in. Even vendors at the market place tended to give her discounts on their prices, even though she had tried to ask them to treat her like all their other customers. All the attention she got in Daggerfall, had first felt extremely strange and awkward to her; therefore, she did not like to spend time in the city - besides her home and the Mages Guild - even though she had started to get somewhat used to it, eventually. Occasionally, she had also started to visit the Rosy Lion Inn, mostly with Aleksei and his friends; Gregoire Lafont always served their drinks for free there, and tended to considerately give them a side table, where they could get more privacy.

Linnea picked up the laundry, left the city and walked along the river that ran nearby, until she came to the secluded place where she liked to do the washing. She placed water from the river into the washing tube, heated it with her spell, added a certain mixture of herbs and alchemical flowers to the water - she had accidentally discovered that they dissolved dirt efficiently - and did the washing. Once that was done, she carefully dried the laundry with the aid of her magicka, and folded them neatly. She smiled contentedly; being a mage made household chores significantly easier. Aleksei would be so happy when he noticed that she had washed his clothes and gear - doing the washing was something that he had always hated greatly. It would probably take him a long time to heat the water for the laundry; first he would have to chop the firewood - and get the logs lit, in order to build a proper fire from them. Then he would have to do the actual washing, and after that, he also would have to get the clothes dry.

After the work was done, she took off her clothes and washed herself - in the ice-cold river. It was the beginning of Sun's Dawn, thus it was still almost mid-winter. She could have heated warm water for herself, or washed in a bathhouse, like other citizens probably did in the winter time but she actually preferred to clean herself that way. Going to the chilly water felt unpleasant but it also made her feel... more alive in some way. After she had dried herself and dressed her clothes back on, she walked back home, left the newly washed clothes onto the bed, and went to the Mages Guild to do her alchemy work.

When she had finished her tasks for that day, she remembered something - she had totally forgotten to give the books she had found in Silumm, that ancient Ayleid ruin, to Valaste! She decided to fetch them from her place, and give them to her right away; she knew that Valaste rarely separated her working hours from her free time, since she was so devoted to her work and research. It took her only a while to get the books from her home. Aleksei was probably be working late again, since he had not returned yet, even though it was late evening already. Linnea thought that she would just quickly give the books to Valaste; by the time Aleksei would come back from his duty, she would already have returned, and they would eat a late dinner together. She grabbed the books from their bookshelf, where she had left them, and walked back to the Mages Guild.

Linnea handed the books to Valaste, and - feeling a bit uneasy - told her that in the ruins of Silumm, she had seen a projection of the Arch-Mage Shalidor, who had instructed her about the books, revealing that fire would show the words. Valaste just calmly stated that in the First Era, mages used a special kind of ink: the texts written with it could only be exposed by arcane fire. Judging by her reaction - or rather the lack of any kind of reaction to the matter, she did not appear to question her experience about the projection. Instead, it seemed to be perfectly normal to her that people might see ethereal projections of Arch-Mages that had passed on to Aetherius a long time ago. Linnea placed the books into a brazier where arcane fire had been lit, and they revealed a complex-looking spell. After Valaste had examined it, she adviced Linnea how to cast it, explaining that it would summon the Arch-Mage himself - and link her mind with his, so that he could speak to her whenever he would choose to do so. Linnea did not like the idea of her mind being linked with someone else's - it was unnerving enough that the Prophet could apparently appear to her whenever he wished to - but for some reason, she did not want to back out from what they were going to do, thus she ended up casting the spell, nevertheless.

Linnea was a bit startled, when she suddenly heard the Arch-Mage's voice speaking to her and saw his projection in front of her. "Greetings, fellow mage! The strength of your spirit drew me to you in the ruins of Silumm some time ago, and now I'd ask your assistance with completing my final task. When I still dwelled on Tamriel, I created a sanctuary for mages - a safe place where they could do research and practice - but I lost it to Sheogorath in a bet with him, and it was taken to The Shivering Isles because of that. I want you to recover it back to Tamriel!" he said to her. "I will help you, if you tell me what I have to do," Linnea promised him before she had even fully comprehended what she was about to get involved in. "You just have to recover four tomes from the Shivering Isles, the realm of Sheogorath...to be more specific, from a place called Cheesemonger's Hollow. Let me open a portal for you there," he replied; before he had even finished his sentence, he had already opened the portal for her.

Without even thinking of what she was going to do, Linnea entered the portal; soon she noticed that she was in a place that looked like it could belong in Tamriel but somehow the atmosphere there felt totally...different. Then a bald man, who was dressed like some kind of a servant, greeted her: "Oh how quaint. A mortal," and asked: "Well, what is it? Here for some noble purpose, no doubt?" "I was sent here to look for some tomes for the Arch Mage Shalidor," she answered, hoping that the man might be able to tell her the location of the books, or something that would help her. He stared at her for a while, and then replied mysteriously: "Spellbooks? How pedestrian. As it happens, I'm feeling particularly charitable at present. I'll allow you to enter. After a test of your resolve. This isn't a lending library. If you want the spellbooks, you'll have to earn them. A portal has been opened, just behind you. Close it, and I'll grant you passage." "Fine, thank you, sir," she replied, and saw him opening a portal of some kind. When she saw the scamps around it, she suddenly realised that she had not prepared herself for this task in any way. Thus, she was lacking the gear she usually had, when going on an adventure, and was only wearing basic clothes, instead of her light armoured mage robes. Fortunately, though, she had her sword and dagger with her, since she always carried them these days – besides, her magicka would naturally be her best weapon and defence.

She got rid of the scamps surprisingly easily, and closing the portal was not very challenging for her, either. When the task was completed, the man sounded pleased, when complimenting her, and making her an odd proposition: "That was unexpectedly competent. You'd make an adequate house servant. I don't suppose you'd consider it? The pay is meager, but the fringe benefits are appalling." She politely rejected the strange offer, and asked to get the tomes, instead. The man opened a door for her, behind which he claimed the books to be, and wished her happy adventuring. Before leaving, Linnea asked: "By the way, who are you, and what is this place?" "I am Haskill, Lord Sheogorath's chamberlain. I handle his affairs and look after the Shivering Isles while his lordship is away. The Shivering Isles are Lord Sheogorath's realm in Oblivion. To tell you more would, as my lord puts it, spoil all the fun." She bade him farewell, and left the area. Then she remembered that she had heard his name before - it was when she had regained her consciousness in a room of the Rosy Lion Inn, after she had returned in Tamriel; that strange voice speaking inside her head had shouted: "Haskill, another huuuungry customer"!

Behind the door, Linnea found a path that led through the Shivering Isles. First it passed through bleak-looking wastelands that sent shivers down her spine but then the dread landscape changed into something totally opposite; suddenly, she was walking across lovely, blooming meadows. At the end of the path, there was something that looked like a library - and there was a giant clannfear, there, guarding it. Linnea cast her spells towards it, dodged its attacks, and managed to finish the creature with her sword. She noticed the four tomes on a table, and reached for one of them - but the three others vanished, and an old man appeared before her, presenting himself as Sheogorath, and demanded to know what she was doing. She immediately recognised his voice, and realised that the strange voice, she had heard inside her head back then, had belonged to The Daedric Prince of Madness himself!

"I - I'm getting back Shalidor's books, like he asked me to do," Linnea replied him. "Oh, getting that island back for dear, old Shally? I'm not giving it without a challenge, mortal! Tell you what? You can keep the book you have there, just because I like you, peasant... but I'm going to keep these other three...just for my own amusement, you know, hahaa! When you complete certain tasks, you will have the other tomes, deal?" the Daedric Prince said to her, and summoned the Arch Mage Shalidor, continuing: "Did you hear that, Shally? Hahaha! Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I cursed the books so that you can't read them, Shally! How brilliant, isn't it?" "You son of a..." the summoned Arch Mage cursed, and tried to attack on Sheogorath. However, his attempts did not appear to have any kind of effect, instead Sheogorath just shouted "Boooooring!" and disappeared, leaving only a massive amount of pink butterflies behind. The Arch Mage instructed Linnea to give the book to Valaste; she would probably be able to translate it; Shalidor himself could not join their company.

Thus, Linnea returned to Tamriel, to the place where she had entered the portal. She explained to Valaste what had happened in the Shivering Isles, and she eagerly started to translate the tome. In any case, it would take her a considerable amount of time to finish the task, and therefore she promised that she would contact her when the job was done. She had suggested that meanwhile, Linnea could start looking for other interesting books to add to the collections of Archanaeum, if she was interested in that.

When Linnea was walking home, she noticed that it was already late night. She felt extremely confused about everything that had just happened, and about the fact that she had most likely interacted with the Daedric Prince of Madness also before. It all felt so overwhelmingly strange and agonising to her that she decided it would be best to try not to think about it anymore; soon she would be at home, and everything would be back to normal.

"By the Eight, Linnea, where in Oblivion have you been? It's almost midnight!" Aleksei asked her upset when she returned home, and continued: "I was just about to go looking for you!" “In Oblivion, indeed! To be more precise, in the realm of the Mad God there," Linnea thought to herself sarcastically, and replied coldly: "So, now I should always be waiting for you at home when you return? I don't think so. I can go and come whenever I please." "Oh, I didn't mean it that way, of course you can...sorry. It's just that you don't usually disappear like that without even leaving a note, so I was starting to get really worried that something bad had happened to you," he explained; then he paid attention to her dirty clothes that also were stained with something that resembled blood, and asked concerned: "Are you alright, my love?" She noticed him staring at the stains in her clothes, and assured him: "Yes, I'm totally fine! I was just visiting Valaste at the Mages Guild... helping her with her research there. I thought it would only take a while but then we had that...little incident, and I had to stay taking care of things there." She did not want to tell him the truth about what had happened, since she did not want to get him even more concerned - and more importantly, she just wanted to push the things that had happened there, away from her mind. He embraced her, and replied: "I just want to keep you safe, my love! You know, you're so well known in this city, and probably all the Bloodthorns hate you greatly, and would like to... take their revenge against you for ruining their plans -" "Don't worry, dear, I can take care of myself!" she interrupted him, and kissed him.

Linnea took a tiny bottle of nightshade extract from her nightstand, and poured half of its contents into her tea; now she would definitely require it in order to get some rest after the events in the Mages Guild. Besides, she did not want that Aleksei would have to wake up also this night, because of her nightmares. "What's that liquid you're mixing to your tea?" he asked. "Well, it's my medicine... helps me to sleep. As you have noticed, I often don't sleep very well," she explained. "Oh, right," he replied. Then she warned: "And, don't ever take it on your own. It's very potent and difficult to dose right. I've gained pretty high tolerance to it, so the same amount of that extract could easily kill you." "Wow, sounds like a strange medicine! Don't worry, I won't touch it," he promised, and continued: "And I don't have any problems with sleeping." "Except when my screaming and shouting wakes you up in the middle of the night," she replied, and laughed sarcastically. "It's okay, my love, I don't really mind that," he convinced her, and then remembered something he had wanted to ask: "Hey, by the way, who is Dorian?" "I've never heard of anyone called that before, why do you ask?" she wondered. "Oh, it just came to my mind, because last night, when you had fallen back asleep, you said to me Good night, Dorian," he explained. When he saw her startled expression, he blushed, and added quickly: "It's alright. I didn't expect to be your first...oh Gods, I mean -" But she interrupted him, shouting desperately: "Really, I don't know anyone called that! I don't know who he is! I can't remember..." and started crying hopelessly; after the weird events of the day, that had been the last straw that broke. "Oh dear Gods, I'm so sorry, love, I really didn't mean to upset you! It was a stupid thing to ask, and not important at all," he tried to pacify her, and took her into his arms. He could never have guessed that she would react to his question like that - and it was the very first time he saw her crying.

After she had calmed down, she was extremely ashamed and frightened of her own reaction - and very confused about their conversation. That name, Dorian, felt so familiar to her but she could not recall why, or who he was. Fortunately, Aleksei was so very kind, and had that almost extraordinary ability to soothe her - she had thought that the panic attack would never cease – and he did not appear to be shocked about having seen her crying like a child. She drank the rest of her tea, kissed him goodnight, and instructed him: "Soon I'll fall into rather deep sleep, when the medicine starts to kick in, don't get startled by that. And please, don't try to wake me up from it, because that would be unpleasant. Good night, I love you!"


	12. The Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea finally reveals her secret to her loved one.

Linnea woke up, feeling still a bit disoriented, and noticed that Aleksei seemed to have started his working day a great while ago already. Slowly, the effects of the nightshade had started to subside, and the sensation of the world spinning around her went away. She got up, wondering why she could still feel the side effects of that extract, since they usually had totally disappeared by the time she woke up from the deep sleep state. She opened the window of their room, hoping that the cold air would refresh her and clear her thoughts - and noticed that it was dark outside! Since Aleksei was not there anymore, she understood that it had to be late afternoon or early evening already, so she had slept several hours more than she had thought. Judged by the situation, she quickly figured that she had taken an overdose of nightshade. She felt extremely ashamed; as an alchemist and a healer, she should have realised that because she had not used nightshade extract regularly anymore - ever since she had moved together with Aleksei - her tolerance to it had naturally lowered, thus she should have significantly reduced the dosage.  
  
She hoped that a large cup of strong coffee could get her fully awake before Aleksei would come back from his duty; she did not want him to find out about the mistake she had made. So, she stumbled downstairs to fetch one, and sat down at a table to drink it. Soon, a friend of Aleksei and hers, who worked in the City Guard, and whose post was to keep watch at the officers' living quarters that day, came to greet her: "Hey, good _morning,_ Lin! How did you sleep so long today? I was wondering if I should check that everything's fine since you didn't start to show up here, like you usually do!" She smiled at him, and replied: "Oh, hello! Well, I kind of overslept, yep...kind of...not feeling so good today. If you'd be so kind and...wouldn't say anything about this to Alex, he doesn't have to know... please?" "Well, well, looks like someone has drank much more last night than she should have, aye?" he said, laughed in a friendly way, and continued playfully: "Don't worry, m'lady, my lips are sealed! I won't say a single word to our dear mister Officer about it!" "Thanks, I'd really appreciate that," Linnea replied, and laughed a bit, too; that friend of theirs had an invaluable talent of getting people into a better mood. "And, by the way, are you going to come with us tonight to the Rosy Lion, or did you get more than enough of mead and wine already last night?" he asked her. "No, no, it's fine...I'm fine!" she claimed, and added: "But it depends on how long Alex has to work today, so I don't know yet if we'll come." "Okay, we'll be there if you decide to join us, then," he replied and went back to his duty.  
  
"Hello dear, I'm home!" Aleksei greeted her as he entered their cosy, spacious room. Then he noticed Linnea's slight grogginess, despite that she did her best to hide it, and asked: "Oh my, are you okay, you don't look so good?" "It's just the side effect of the extract I took last night. Nothing to worry about, usually this doesn't happen but I might have taken it a bit more than I mostly do," she claimed, not revealing that she had accidentally overdosed. He looked at her, and stated with a serious tone: "I don't like that you use it. Last night when you had fallen asleep, it looked so scary. You rested so unnaturally calm, I barely saw your chest moving when you breathed, and you looked so pale, as if you were..." he did not want to finish the sentence. Then he asked: "What's that extract made of?" "Nightshade," she replied, and looked out of the window, as if there was something especially interesting, there. "Of nightshade? Oh, gods, isn't that a very poisonous plant? I don't want you to use poison in order to sleep!" he replied shocked.  
  
She turned to look at him, and replied coolly: "Since when have you been a better alchemist than I am?" "I didn't claim to be a better alchemist than you, dear," he replied with a sad tone, and continued: "But I do know that you shouldn't use a poisonous plant to get rid of your nightmares. Instead, you should talk to me about your problems and fears, that would help to chase them away. You probably suffer from a stress reaction occurring after a shocking situation, and it's no wonder, considering what happened that night when we saved the King. Anyone would -" he tried to explain her but she interrupted him: "My nightmares have nothing to do with what happened that night. I wasn't scared then, and the events have never bothered me afterwards, either!" "Linnea, really? First the assassin tried to kill you, and then later you got severely injured, you almost died! That should frighten you!" he questioned what she had said. "I couldn't care less," she stated calmly, making him more upset. "You sometimes scare me so much, love. You're so cold and distant, so ... _hollow_ somehow," he said. Now Linnea lost control, and let him know what she had never planned to reveal to anyone: "Maybe that is because I don't have a soul!" she shouted.  
  
"What do you mean with that, love?" he asked confused, having no idea what she was talking about. "I don't have a soul," she repeated what she had said, and continued: "It is in Coldharbour, claimed by Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince himself." Aleksei looked shocked; he thought for a while, and then asked: "So, have you...sold your soul to a Daedric Prince?" "No, definitely not!" she cried out, and then started to tell her story: "I am - was - a templar who hunted down daedric creatures, and then one day, I probably lost a battle against them and ended up in Coldharbour as a prisoner. I think I died before it but then somehow got alive again - only without a soul. I managed to escape from that plane of Oblivion, and got back to Tamriel; I woke up in a room of the Rosy Lion Inn, having no idea of what had happened. Then I also discovered that this is all I remember of my past... I think I lost my memories along with my soul. I still can't remember anything else of the time before I was taken to Coldharbour."  
  
"That's - that's so terrible," he replied; it was all that he could say after hearing that such a dreadful thing had happened to his dear girlfriend. "You probably think I'm insane," she reckoned cynically but he said: "Of course I don't, darling! I do believe you. It's just so difficult to comprehend... and so terribly sad." "So, do you now believe me if I say that my nightmares have nothing to do with what happened in the castle of Daggerfall? They're about what happened in Coldharbour," she asked, and tears started streaming across her face. He nodded and replied: "Yes, I do," with so silent voice that his words were barely distinguishable. "I'm - I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you about this before. I should have but it would have been too painful," she weepingly apologized. "No need to be sorry, dear," he said, and took her into his arms. He held her tight, and tried to assure her: "It's alright...everything's gonna be alright," but his voice cracked, and he started crying, too.  
  
For a while, they did not say a single word, until he broke the silence: "I won't let that happen to you ever again, I promise," he tried to comfort her, and to make her feel safe. First, she did not react to that in any way - but then she suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, while still shedding tears. "What's so funny in that?" he asked confused, being a bit offended by her unexpected reaction to his serious promise. When she was finally able to speak again, she explained, while wiping tears away from her face: " I'm absolutely sure that you can keep your word, dear... because that can't happen again! Nobody can steal my soul from me, if I don't have it anymore!" "Oh, right," he replied, blushing a bit; first and foremost, he was happy that he had managed to get her into a better mood.  
  
"Are we going to the Rosy Lion tonight?" Linnea asked, when she had gotten over the events that had taken place that day. "Do you still wanna go?" he returned the question to her. "Yes, of course! Besides, it's Fredas, and we both have a day off tomorrow, and so on," she answered him; the effects of the nightshade had totally subsided now, thus she felt also physically much better. He smiled, and said: "Then we'll go there!" "Great! The others are probably in the inn, already," she assumed, and continued: "I'll just quickly dress up and do something about this mess in my hair." "It won't take me long to change into civil clothes, either," he replied.


	13. A New Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Aresin has heard unsettling rumours about Deleyn's Mill, a small village close to Daggerfall, and the nature surrounding it. He gives Linnea her first assignment; she promises to inspect the area in the coming weekend and find out what is going on there.

Aleksei blocked the blows his opponent tried to strike at him with his sword. The sleeting had made his hair wet, sticking it to his face, and the snow on the battleground had turned into slush but he did not let those things disturb him; he knew he could win this duel. After the successful defensive postures, he got his opportunity to attack. He could sense that his opponent was exhausted - and now it would be his turn to be the one trying to ward off the strikes. Thus, he charged at him, and with his strong but precise blows, he managed to drop the sword from his opponent's grasp. Then he pointed at his chest with his sword, and his opponent raised his hands as the sign that he surrendered. Linnea, who had observed their battle from distance, smiled; she had been certain that Aleksei would win that duel. His friends had told her that he was an exceptionally good fighter but he rarely had to use his skills in his work, since he mostly could solve even the more complex situations by discussing.  
  
"Congratulations, it was a tough but good duel," his opponent - one of his fellow officers - said to him, while they shook hands. "Thanks, it was a good duel, indeed," Aleksei replied, and asked: "So these duelling competitions are usually held on Turdas afternoons, then?" "Aye, the same place and time in the next week, too!" his comrade reminded him, and wondered: "Where have you learnt to fight so well?". "My father always taught me when he was at home," he said. "Your father... right...he's a general in the Lion Guard. I remember well the time when we were in the basic military training, we were both recruits back then. I've heard that his troops respect him greatly...he was a good soldier and a fair lad, when we trained together," he recalled, and wondered: "So, you haven't followed his footsteps and joined the Covenant army?" "Nope, because I like Daggerfall...I grew up in here, and decided to stay, instead of travelling around High Rock and the Covenant," he explained. "That is a very understandable reason, I like this city, too," he replied. Then he noticed Linnea, who was bringing Aleksei a piece of cloth that would serve as a towel and a cup of fresh coffee, and asked her: "Hey, do you know how to fight with a sword?" "Yep...even though spells are my weapon of choice," she answered. "Then, may I ask you to duel with me?" he proposed, and stated: "Not everyone gets the chance to fight against the Hero of Daggerfall without getting slaughtered!" "Alright, let's fight, then," she replied, and made sure she had understood it right: "No magic, only the blades?" "Aye, and the looser buys a bottle of wine to the winner," he confirmed. Thus, she took off her cloak and her scabbard and blade, picked a wooden training sword from the ground and announced: "Deal. I'm ready, let's go!"  
  
Soon Linnea noticed that her opponent was clearly better at a plain sword fight than she was. So far, she had managed to dodge all his strikes but she would doubtlessly run out of stamina sooner than him, thus she could not keep her defences up long enough to win. She silently cursed that she had too often neglected physical training, and desperately tried to figure out how she could defeat him, despite the odds. Then she came up with an idea; when he tried to deal a stronger blow onto her sword, trying to get her drop it, she dodged it by suddenly rolling aside. Then she quickly circled behind him, drew her sheathed dagger that she always carried with her, and pointed at his back with its hilt, instead of the blade (in order to make certain that there would be no accidents caused by her unexpected maneuver), and declared smirkingly: "I won," which made Aleksei laugh amused. "But that wasn't a fair fight, you didn't even follow the rules, not to mention the duelling etiquette," her opponent corrected her. "You're right, I didn't duel fairly or honestly - and yet, if this had been a real fight, you'd be lying on the ground, bleeding to death, and I'd be still standing," she stated, and smiled deviously. "Aye...that's true! You're a smart lass," he admitted - but she continued: "However, this wasn't a real combat, and I didn't fight fairly. So, do you prefer red wine or white wine?"  
  
"I didn't know that your father is a general in the Lion Guard," Linnea said to Aleksei, and added: "You did mention that he serves there but I didn't know that he is a high-ranked leader in those elite forces of the Covenant. So, your mother is a weapon smith, working there, too, or do I remember that right?" "Yep," he answered, and continued: "They met when they were both serving in the army. Mother raised us here in Daggerfall but when we had grown up, and my little sisters had moved away from home, she wanted to go back to her old job, and now she and my father both serve in the Lion Guard, in the same place." "And you've lived in Daggerfall all your life, then. I wonder if I'm - where I'm from. Do you think I could have also lived in this city before...the things that happened to me?" she asked him. He thought about her question for a while, and then replied: "I don't think so. At least I didn't recognise you when we met for the first time. I think I would have, if you had been living here for a longer period of time." "Oh, okay. But at least I had been here a couple of weeks earlier, before I woke up in that inn room here, after escaping Coldharbour. I don't remember that myself but the innkeeper and the Master Alchemist told me things clearly indicating to that - maybe I was visiting this city before what happened to me," she wondered aloud but then suddenly changed the subject, since she started to feel too agonised by her thoughts: "Hey, by the way, could you teach me how to fight better with a sword, dear?"  
  
"Oh shit!" Linnea cursed, when Aleksei managed to disarm her again; first she had been able to keep up her defences but eventually she had run out of stamina, and it had been ridiculously easy for him to end the duel. "What do I do wrong? I know you're physically much stronger than me but this can't depend on that, or can it?" she asked. "Nope, not entirely. If we were fighting with battle axes or other very heavy weapons, then of course but not when we're duelling with light swords," he assumed, and advised her: "You can block and defend yourself with the blade quite well, in fact. But that's not enough in a combat - you should also create opportunities for you to attack and try to deal some damage to your enemy." "That's easier said than done," she replied, and laughed a bit. "But you're a mage, why do you want to learn to fight with the blade?" he wondered, and explained: "I think mages are very dangerous enemies. You should get near them if you want to strike them down but that's often almost impossible, because they cast dreadful spells from distance!" "That's true. But mages will eventually run out of magicka, and if that happens in the middle of a battle, it leaves them totally defenceless - unless they're able to fight with weapons. That's why I want to become better with my sword. And, besides, spells can also cause collateral damage to your friends and allies. If they're nearby, I’ll have to use my blade to defend myself and kill the enemies, while also focusing on healing us," she stated. "Oh, I understand," he replied, and then warned her with a serious tone: "And, of course the archers can easily take down a mage. That's why you would always have to beware them, if you somehow ended up attacked by your enemies, my love. Always stay on the move, then you're not so easy target for them!"

Aleksei was just about to return back to his duty, when he and Linnea saw Captain Aresin coming to them; he greeted them, saying jokingly: "Oh my, so lovely young couple - and solving their disagreement with weapons! Sorry, Linnea, it's totally my fault that he'll have to be at work all the weekend and the Heart's Day. I make the shift lists for the officers, you know," and winked at her. "Hah, he was just sparring and teaching me how to fight better. And, of course, someone has to get the weekend shift, I think we're fine with that...at least I don't care about the festivals so much myself," she replied. "And, we can always celebrate it afterwards," Aleksei added. "That's right - I only wish other officers' fiancés would be that understanding concerning the shifts on the festival days," the Captain said, and continued: "Hey, Linnea, I'd have an assignment for you, now!" "That's great! What is it about?" she asked curiously. "I'd like you to go to check that everything's alright in Deleyn's Mill. I've heard rumours that the nature surrounding that village would have, well...gone rogue. Turned against the people living there, wildlife attacking on the villagers. And that there would be some sort of dark magic involved in the matter," he explained, and having seen Aleksei's appalled expression, quickly added: "Oh, they're probably only rumours that have nothing to do with reality, that's why I haven't sent guards there yet. Sometimes wild animals do cause trouble and even attack on villagers, and that has nothing to do with dark magic. Besides, the area is officially the Covenant Guard's responsibility, not ours, even though we sometimes assist the village, when problems suddenly occur...However, I'd probably sleep better at nights, if I knew that someone capable is investigating this and taking care of it." "I'll do my best," Linnea promised, and asked: "Should I get there at once?" "I don't think this is so urgent, you'll probably just have to try to calm down the villagers, and tell them that there's nothing to worry about," he assumed, and playfully suggested: "But now you'd get something to do at the weekend, instead of spending the Heart's Day alone, while the love of your life has to be on duty!" She smiled, and promised that she would find out about the situation in Deleyn's Mill during the coming weekend, then.  
  
"I'll have a couple days off after the weekend. If it's not an emergency there, you could as well wait until Morndas, so I could come there with you," Aleksei suggested to Linnea, when Captain Aresin had left but she objected: "No, I'll go there at the weekend. This is my assignment, and you've got more than enough work with your own responsibilities as an officer. You have free days for resting, not for more working!" "I wouldn't mind helping you there but fine then, if you don't want me to come..." he answered to her a bit offended. "I don’t want you there, silly!" she replied to him, laughing in a friendly way, and hugged him. That made him relax a bit, thus he smiled back at her, and said to her before going back to his work: "So, we planned to go to the Rosy Lion today with the guys, cos we can't do that in the weekend. Wanna join us?" "Of course, let's meet there in the evening, then!" she replied, and gave him a little kiss before he left.  
  
Linnea stood on a cliff that was in front of the castle of Daggerfall. She had just returned from a walk around the city, and now she was admiring the beautiful view; the sun was setting, and the snow-covered landscape glowed in the evening light. She went closer to the edge. From there, she could better see the docks below - and the sea where ships sailed away from the city, towards their exotic destinations in Hammerfell. She looked down and felt nervous because of the altitude. She was afraid of high places, indeed - and yet, at the same time, she was morbidly attracted to them. Not only the thought of somehow accidentally falling scared her but she was also afraid that she would suddenly lose control and jump down herself. She knew, though, that she would not do so, even though the obsessive thoughts she had about it, when standing there, felt frightening. She looked down, and imagined the incomprehensibly intense pain and agony she would feel, if she crushed against the stones below, and the shivers went down her spine, because of the terrible thought. Moreover, she realised that it was also possible to die because of someone else pushing her down - and then she suddenly noticed that someone actually was standing there, behind her! _"I won't be killed that easily,"_ she thought frantically, and quickly figured what she would do, if the person was there to eliminate her. For now, she would pretend that she had not noticed them, and when they would try to push her, she would suddenly move aside, and push them down, instead. Thus, she was preparing for the assassination attempt that she anticipated to take place soon - but then she heard the person behind her saying her quietly: "It's a long way down, Lin," and realised that he was Anton, her and Aleksei's friend.  
  
She caught her breath and replied to him: "It is, indeed. But the view is stunning." "And the fall is nasty," he said and started to get desperate. He had seen her standing there alone for quite a while; the way she had been looking down from there, terrified him greatly. Then he blurted her: "For heaven's sake, Lin, come away from there! You're freaking me out!" She turned around, and put her hands to her pockets, so that he would not see them shaking, and tried her best to hide her astonishment while saying: "Very well, but I think you're the one that scared me, sneaking behind me like that! I thought you were my one of my enemies and would try to get rid of me by pushing me down. What in Oblivion where you thinking?" "Well...I kinda thought that you were...oh, never mind," he awkwardly tried to explain, and then quickly changed the subject: "Come on, let's go to the inn, I think Alex and the others are already waiting for us there!" "Oh, right. I didn't realise it's that late already," she answered, and smiled at him to show him that everything was fine.

They entered the inn, ordered two glasses of spiced wine, and sat at the corner table; Aleksei had come there earlier and he had been already waiting for them there. "So, the others haven't come yet, either," Linnea stated, and stole a bite from the Hunter's Pie Aleksei had ordered for himself. "Nope, they're late like always," he replied, and started to discuss about some work-related events with Anton. Linnea did not even try to look as if she was following their conversation but let her thoughts wander, instead. In the inn, it was warm and cosy - and more importantly, since it was Turdas evening, the place was not crowded. She listened to the bard, who was singing something about swaying and kissing; maybe he was practising for the coming Heart's Day, when it would doubtlessly be the most popular song of that evening. Linnea recognised that song - it apparently told about two lovers - she remembered that she had always liked its melody.  
  
Soon she noticed that the rest of their friends had finally come to the inn, too. "Hey Alex, I think you've made some kinda mistake with the shift lists," Olivier stated, and continued: "You've put me guarding this city on the Heart's Day!" "Aye, an officer's friends shouldn't get crappy shifts," William explained playfully. "Hah, I'm not giving you slackers any special treatment," he replied them amused, and added: "Besides, I'll spend the whole weekend on duty, myself." "Yeah but you wouldn't have to drag us with you to that misery," Anton jokingly scolded him. "You'll thank me later, on Sundas, when you wake up in your own bed, not having a terrible headache and a hagraven laying there next to you!" he replied to him and smiled wickedly. "Hey! She wasn't a hagraven...yet!" he cried out. "A hagraven?" Linnea asked. "Yeah, they're those horrible beasts, half birds and half women. After a night of heavy drinking, he woke up with a witch, who then revealed that she was going to become one of those creatures!" Aleksei explained her. "I ran all the way back to the city when I found out about that. I've never ran so fast in my life, I guess, despite the horrible hangover I had!" Anton recalled what had happened that morning. "Hah, maybe it's for the best then, that you can't get drunk in the Heart's Day!" Linnea said laughingly, and then apologized: "Sorry but I think we'll have to leave already. At least I'll have to wake up early tomorrow. I've gotta help Master Telleno, and make some preparations for my assignment." "Wow, what kinda mercenary work did you get, Lin?" he asked her surprised. "Well, it's nearby and I think I won't get to do anything so exciting but it's nice change for my alchemy work, at least," she explained while dressing her winter cloak and leaving some tip.

Linnea lay close to Aleksei on their bed, and leaned her head against his chest. She listened to his heart beating; his pulse was already calm again, like it usually was, whereas her own heart was still beating fast. She felt so safe and happy in his arms - almost _too happy_. It suddenly felt difficult for her to breathe, when the agonising thought hit her like a blizzard - something terrible could happen to him, and she could not bear the thought of that! At any time, her happiness could shatter into pieces, and her life would fall apart again. She kept staring at the wall and the fire place on the other side of their room but in her thoughts, she was in another time and place.  
  
_"Oh, damn it's so hot! Luckily I have a holiday and don't have to wear that thick armour for a while!" he said. "Yep. Fortunately, it's the end of summer, so this heatwave won't probably last long, anymore. Besides, I can sense that the weather's gonna change soon, I can feel that the air's thick with energy of a coming thunder storm," she replied to him. Then she got up, and told him: "So I'll go gathering those alchemical ingredients now, before the storm and rain come." "Okay, I'll make the dinner ready, while you're out. Don't stray too far, in case the storm really hits soon," he replied. She kissed him, and assured him: "Don't worry, darling, I'm gonna be back soon." She dressed her newly washed white apron on, took her basket and knife, and went out._  
  
The chamomiles in the meadow and in her basked had such a strong scent, and then that smell mixed with the odour of the sulphur and brimstone...  
  
The next scene that rushed into her mind was her standing in a field that was very familiar to her, and yet it looked so different from what it used to; there was nothing growing there, except for the few weeds that thrived, despite the foulness of the soil. Everything around her had been destroyed; the farm was in ruins and everyone she knew, was gone. The only voice that broke the silence, was the wind blowing from the sea nearby; it made a windchime that was still hanging on a branch of a charred and dead apple tree play its haunting melody.  
  
"Help me, Dorian!" she screamed from the bottom of her lungs. Aleksei quickly got up, and asked her terrified: "Oh, Gods, what came to you, dear? Did I... hurt you in some way?" When she grasped his arm, and desperately asked him: "Please, don't go! You can't leave me here alone! This can't be true, you can't have gone away and left me alone," he realised that her reaction had nothing to do with the present. She did not appear to be aware of who he was or of her surroundings; it seemed that she was experiencing a flashback from her past. "Wake up, Linnea, come back to me. You're safe now, you're with me, everything is alright, I'm here and I'm not going to leave you, dear," he pacified her, and slowly, she started to return to present. She felt extremely confused; Aleksei explained her what had happened but she did not remember anything from her flashback, besides the smell of chamomiles and brimstone, and the sound of the windchime. He got her a cup of tea; she felt ashamed and apologized him for her behaviour several times, even though he tried to convince her that there was nothing to be sorry about.

"Oh, I almost forgot that I've got something for you," Aleksei said before they were going to bed, and went to take it from his dresser. He gave Linnea a beautiful silver medallion that had a blue gem in the middle of it, and said: "I was going to give this to you after the Heart's Day but I wanna give it to you now, it might be useful for you to have it already in the coming weekend. "Oh, it's so pretty, thank you so much, dear!" she exclaimed happily. When she pressed it against her chest, she immediately noticed that it was somehow resonating with her own energy and asked: "Wow, is this an enchanted piece of jewellery?" "So, it actually works, then? Yes, I took it to Master Telleno, and he promised to enchant it so that it would strengthen the magicka of its user." he replied. Then she got an idea, and told him to put it on himself. He first wondered why but then did as she wanted to. "Don't you feel anything?" she asked. "Not much, really. Maybe, if I focus on thinking about that but I dunno," he answered. "Well, do you actually know how to cast some spells? The simple fire one that I taught you back then?" "My father tried to teach me the basic spells he knows but I never learnt any of them properly...unlike my sisters, they learnt those very fast but I think they have always had much stronger affinity to magicka than I have," he assumed, and then answered to her question: "I did try to learn that spell you taught me but the sparkles I can create aren't so great that they could lit up any fire." "Well, try them now onto that piece of paper on the table," she suggested.  
  
"Oh, by Akatosh, I did it," he shouted extremely pleased when the paper burnt brightly and turned into a pile of ash. "I knew you could do it, dear! With a bit assistance to your magicka reserve, you can cast minor spells, isn't that wonderful?" she rejoiced with him. "Yeah, it's cool, indeed! Though I think I'll settle with tinders and such also from now on, and get you the enchanted stuff, cos you need them more than I do," he thought, and gently put the necklace on her. "Hey, I've got something for you, too," Linnea remembered, and fetched many tiny bottles from her bag. She gave them to him, saying: "These are quite potent health-restoring potions, I want you to have them. If you for some reason would ever...get injured, drink them and pour some of that liquid also directly into the wounds. I want you to always carry health-restoring potions with you, they're not too large for that." He was delighted to get them but wondered: "Thank you, love...but I've always thought that this kind of stuff would be extremely expensive." She smiled at him, and replied: "Not if you're an alchemist. Especially if you gather all the ingredients for them yourself." Before they went to bed, she made him put some of them into the pockets of his armour, and also into the pockets his of civil clothes.  
  
"So it's going to be a bit different weekend for both of us this time," Linnea stated when they lay on the bed and had extinguished the candles on their nightstands. "Aye, it is. Good night, my love," he said. She gave him a kiss, and replied "Wake me up, when you get up yourself. Good night, dear."


	14. Deleyn's Mill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea finds out that the rumours about Deleyn's Mill are true as she ends up in the middle of the disaster that has hit the village.

Linnea walked along the road leading to Deleyn's Mill. It was midday of Loredas and the Hearts' Day, and the sun was shining in the bright blue sky. She felt it faintly warming her back through her black winter cloak; despite the coldness and frost, she could sense that it would not be so long until spring would arrive again.  
  
She walked slowly, since her backpack weighted more than it usually did; she did not want to waste her energy right at the beginning of the trip. She was annoyed and questioned her packing solutions; she anticipated that her sword would most likely have been more than enough for this journey. However, she had ended up taking all sorts of things with her, because she had felt somewhat insecure about travelling away from the city after such a long time. Besides, Aleksei, who had shortly visited home before he had gone to sort out some problem, had insisted her on taking her small healing kit with her, when she would leave. For some reason, she had also packed her field alchemy laboratory with her. Now she considered it to be a waste of space but on the other hand, it might prove to be useful, if she really would have to examine something at her destination.  
  
By the smell of the smoke, she deduced that she was getting close to a settlement; she could imagine the families sitting at the warming log-fires, having lunch together at their homes. She considered the place she was approaching to be Deleyn's Mill; it was not very far away from Daggefall. She wondered if the villagers would be eagerly celebrating the Heart's Day already - maybe, when her job would be done there, she could join their festivities in the evening. Perhaps, she would even rent a room from the inn, and stay overnight there; it would be a nice change for her, especially now that she would have to spend the weekend without Aleksei in any case.   
  
The strengthening smell of smoke awakened her from her thoughts - normal hearth fires would not produce so much smoke. Then she saw the village - and the houses that were on fire. She ran there and noticed that the area was overrun by spriggans and some giant bat-like creatures that were throwing fire balls that were probably the reason for the fires. She tried to figure out how to best help the villagers in the chaotic situation; then she noticed a woman that was dressed in simple robes made of leathers and furs, shouting in front of the lumbermill: "Come here!"   
  
"What's happening in here?" Linnea asked her. "The creatures of the forest have suddenly turned against the villagers! They are normally peaceful and don't threaten them but now the forest is somehow...corrupted with evil magic. We came here to investigate it but now it's most important to rescue the people," she replied her and, having seen her confused look, quickly explained: "We are Wyresses...I guess people would call us nature-witches. We live in these forests, protecting the nature, living in harmony with it." They went into the lumbermill; inside, Linnea saw other women that were dressed in similar way as the Wyress she had talked with, and some villagers that they were taking care of. "Are there people trapped in the burning buildings?" she asked them. "Luckily not, they all got out in time. We're treating the minor burns they have," the Wyress replied and then said concerned: "But there are still people inside the other houses, and probably in the docks, too. You look capable -" "I'll go searching for them and get the survivors here," Linnea promised her. "Good. Most of us have to stay here, so that we can put up protective wards around the lumbermill to prevent the spriggans and imps from getting in here," the Wyress explained her and then said to a young Wyress that looked somehow a bit familiar to Linnea: "Jenna, go with her to search for the missing villagers."  
  
"I can heal us, so that we can just run past the imps, not having to care too much about the fire balls or stop fighting against them but I can also fight if it comes to that," Linnea let Jenna know. "Great! I know how to heal, too...but I am not a fighter. And, well, it would feel bad to hurt these creatures, even though they're corrupted now," she replied her. "That's okay. Let's start from the houses over there," she said.  
  
Finally, they had gone through the whole area of the village, except for the docks. They had taken the people they had found to the lumber mill, as they had been instructed to do; the villagers had been extremely frightened but otherwise mostly unharmed. All of them appeared to be safe, since nobody had announced that their loved ones would still be missing. However, there usually were many visitors in the village, such as vendors and fishermen. Therefore, the docks would have to be searched thoroughly, in case of more survivors.

There were several buildings burning down, and the imps would doubtlessly set more fires. The fate of the settlement appeared to be hopeless; Linnea and Jenna could not put off the fires without help, and the rest of the Wyresses would have to stay maintaining the protective wards around the lumbermill and take care of the villagers. Eventually, the fires would spread, and Deleyn's Mill would be totally destroyed.  
  
When they were about to go to the docks, Linnea saw three men running towards them; by the looks of their armours, she knew that two of them were from the Lion Guard, and the third was from the Daggerfall City Guard - and as they came closer, she noticed that he was Anton, her and Aleksei's friend. "Oh, Stendarr's mercy, what's going on here, Lin? Everything's on fire, and what in Oblivion are these monsters here?" he asked, being shocked by what he had encountered. "Turned out that the rumours were true. The nature here has turned against the people, those imps and spriggans have tried to attack on citizens. All the villagers have been rescued but there might still be people at the docks, we're going to check there next. The Wyrds are protecting the survivors in the lumbermill but there are not enough of us to put off the fires and to chase away the beasts," she summed up the situation. "Okay. Me and my partner - that new recruit -  we were patrolling nearby this area today and noticed that something might be wrong here. When we came here and saw this place, I sent her to get reinforcements from the city. Then I bumped into these Lion Guard soldiers, and we all came here, they also sent their comrade to get reinforcements from their base but it's not very close," he replied. "Good. But now, let's go to the docks!" she requested them.  
  
As they came closer to the sea, Linnea sensed the change in the weather. The dark clouds had appeared into the sky, hiding the sun, and she felt the tension and the power of a coming storm. Others had apparently noticed that too, since one of the soldiers said: "Oh, hopefully it's gonna rain. That would help with the fires," and the other soldier replied him: "Aye, looks like a thunder storm is gonna come. It's strange that such weather comes in the winter, though." Linnea, who for some reason had suddenly become extremely nervous, now realised why and corrected them: "No, it's not a normal storm! I can feel that the air is thick with dark magic!" "I don't feel anything, Lin, but honestly speaking, what happens here, is...unnerving. It's okay to be scared..." her friend wanted to comfort her but the Wyress agreed with her: "I've felt the energy of the dark magic, too, ever since the weather began to change. Maybe we're getting closer to the point where this corruption began in the first place."  
  
The strong winds blew from the sea, and it started to sleet. Soon they heard a sound coming from some kind of explosion, it appeared to come from south. "Hey, what was that? Like something just blew up?" the soldier asked, and his comrade said: "Aye! Better go check that nobody's got hurt there!" thus they and Linnea's friend ran towards the location where the noise had come from. Linnea started to anticipate what had happened, and tried to warn them, shouting that they should not rush there like that but the thunder and strong winds hid her words, so that they did not hear her. Instead of going after them, she stood frozen, as the smell of chamomiles and brimstone filled her consciousness, and agonising memories rushed into her mind.  
  
"Hey...Linnea...are you alright? You don't look so good!" the Wyress asked her, sounding extremely worried. Her voice chased away the flashbacks, and she came back to the presence, being immensely terrified. She was shaking and hyperventilating and she felt like she was drifting between reality and illusions. The world around her started to feel unreal, as if she was in a nightmare - and then, suddenly, all her feelings subsided as she lost the sense of herself. "It is a Dolmen - A Dark Anchor. I must go after them, to help them there. Search for the survivors here. You can do it, you'll be fine," she replied to her unexpectedly calmly, and ran to the Dark Anchor.  
  
When she arrived at the Dolmen, she saw her friend laying on the ground, and the two Lion Guard soldiers that had kneeled beside him, trying to help him. "What has happened here?" Linnea asked and started to examine her friend's injuries. "There was some kinda dark ritual those cultists were chanting. When we tried to stop them, ending up in a battle against them, your friend got badly hurt," the soldier explained her. "We killed all the cultists but then those horrible monsters fell from the sky to the ritual site. We managed to drag him here, behind these large rocks, so that they haven't noticed us yet," his comrade added. She nodded at them; then she took a healing potion and made her friend drink it, while she channelled the strongest healing spell that she knew onto his deep lacerations, and tied up the wounds with bandages.  
  
"You have to take him to the healers in Daggerfall, otherwise he won't survive. I could only give him first aid and temporarily stop the bleeding, so that he'll make it to the city. I lack the skills and equipment to fix those injuries," Linnea said to the soldier but he objected: "I'm sorry for your friend but we can't leave our duty, our responsibility is to stay here, to deal with that Dark Anchor, or to wait the reinforcements to come." "You have to help him!" she almost yelled at them, not even trying to hide the anger in her voice. "It's...it's alright, Lin," her friend tried to assure her, even though he appeared to be very frightened himself but she shouted: "No, it's not alright! I won't let those bloody Molag Bal worshippers destroy your life and steal your soul like they did to me! Nobody dies at this Dark Anchor today, I swear it!" She turned to look at the soldiers, and coldly stated to them: "Without a mage, you wouldn't stand a chance against those daedric creatures there, and everyone who dies at a Dark Anchor, is taken as a prisoner to Coldharbour and loses their soul to Molag Bal himself." Then she showed them the Crescent Moon symbol of the King of Daggerfall that was on the hilt of her sword and - trying to sound as convincing as she could - continued: "Take him to Daggerfall, that's an order! This is your lucky day because you don't have to stay fighting at the Dolmen, I'll have things under control here."   
  
The soldier recognised her, and told to his comrade amazed: "By Akatosh, she's King Casimir's champion, the mage lass who saved him!" "Aye...and the one, who also destroyed the Dark Anchor last summer - the _Anchor shatterer_!" he replied to him astonished and then said to her: "As you say, m'lady! We'll take him to the healers at once." She gave her cloak to her friend to help him stay warm during the trip; she also gave all the health-restoring potions she had to the soldiers, instructing them to give them to him one by one, when the bleeding would appear to start again.  
  
Linnea did now know how long it had taken her to deal with the daedric creatures, since she had lost the track of time while fighting against them. However, she had eventually managed to get rid of all of them, and to her great surprise, she was still perfectly unharmed; maybe she had been a very skilled templar and a daedra-hunter before what had happened to her. Now she would only have to destroy the magical bindings of the Anchor, and it would be sent back to where it came from. She was just breaking the first one of them, when she felt a sharp, intense pain in her right flank. She gasped for air, while turning around - there was a Worm Cult archer standing behind her, on the opposite side of the Dolmen.  
  
Aleksei rode on the road leading to Deleyn's Mill with a horse he had gotten from the stable master of The Daggerfall Stables. A while earlier the new recruit of the City Guard had run back to the city from that village; she had reported to him that something terrible had happened there, since there were houses on fire, and wild creatures were terrorising the place. Thus, he had gotten permission from Captain Aresin to form troops from the guards and take them there at once. Since he had gotten a horse, he would arrive there much earlier than his men; he was very grateful for the fact that he would have enough time to find out about the situation and form a plan on how to proceed before his troops would get to the village.  
  
Linnea and the Worm Cult archer stood still for a moment, staring at each other; even though the archer's hood partially covered her face, Linnea could see from her expression that she was frightened and shaken. Judged by the injuries the archer had in her arm, Linnea deduced that she had been fighting against the Lion Guard soldiers and her friend but in the middle of the battle, she had managed to hide so that they had not noticed her disappearance, thus they had thought that they had killed all the cultists. Before the archer would have another chance to attack on her, she cast balls of sun fire onto her but she dodged them all - and instead of starting to fight, she ran away. Linnea tried to cast her spells from distance but they all missed their target, and so she disappeared behind the hills. Having an injury, Linnea did not go after her; besides, having seen the look on the archer's face, she anticipated that she would not intend to return any time soon. The pain Linnea experienced made her instinctively start to heal herself, which she instantly regretted; she had not remembered to pull the arrow out first, thus it would get stuck in her body. She stopped the healing at once but the accident had already happened, and she could not pull the arrow out anymore.  
  
When Aleksei approached Deleyn's Mill, he saw two Lion Guard soldiers that were carrying an injured man. He stopped, and asked them: "You are coming from Deleyn's Mill, right? What's the situation there?" "There are houses on fire in the village, sir! And imps and spriggans have taken over the place. There are Wyresses taking care of the villagers, they all have been rescued but there might still be random people in the docks," the other soldier answered him. "And there's a Dark Anchor nearby the village, too...but she convinced us that she has it under control...we're taking a wounded man to the healers in Daggerfall - he is from your forces, sir! The lass at the dolmen, she ordered us to take him there," the other soldier continued, being too confused to give an organised report. Aleksei got off from his horse, and went to take a look at the wounded city guard - he was extremely shocked to see that he was his best friend. He tried not to let his anxiety show; he looked at his friend and said to him: "It's not so long to Daggerfall anymore. You'll make it there, be strong!" He turned to look at Aleksei; his breathing was laboured due to the pain he experienced but he replied to him: "It's fine...but Lin...she's fighting alone at the Dark Anchor."  
  
Linnea used all of her willpower to gather her strength; she focused her magicka onto the last Anchor pinion and managed to destroy it. Since the Dark Anchor was no longer attached to Nirn, it started to spin and retreated up into the skies. The strong air current caused by its movement pushed her onto the ground - and then she heard Molag Bal speaking to her. The tormenting experience was so intense that she did not know, whether his voice came from the outside world or from _inside_ of her; she could only feel his words: _"When the Planemeld is complete, I will torture you forever and I will destroy the ones you love"_ echoing in her head, making her scream in agony.  
  
Aleksei kept on riding, trying to keep the panic from taking control of him. The disaster at Deleyn's Mill had suddenly turned into his personal nightmare; his best friend had been severely wounded and his girlfriend had been left fighting alone against the abominations of Molag Bal. He remembered what Captain Aresin had said to him before he had left; he had warned him that this might be the toughest situation he would have gotten into so far. He had wanted to remind him that still - no matter what - he would be responsible for his troops. Thus, he should try to keep things under control, meaning that he should not take too large risks to rescue single citizens - even though they both knew that Linnea would probably be in the village, too. However, it would still take considerable amount of time from his men to come to the village after him, and he already knew what was happening there; he could not save the whole village alone - but he could possibly save the life the woman who he loved.  
  
Linnea got up, and forced herself to forget the voice of the Daedric Prince and to focus on taking care of her injury, instead. She quickly went through the options she had; she would have to either walk back to Daggerfall and ask the healers there to cut out the arrow or she could try to remove it herself. To walk back to the city would mean that she would have to heal herself completely; then taking out the arrow would be even more difficult and more painful for her. Besides, the idea of walking alone and injured all the way back was not very appealing, thus she ended up trying to get rid of the arrow herself, first. She took a piece of ice from the shore and pressed it against her injury. Its coldness made her shiver but at least it could numb the area even a bit before her attempts to remove the arrow.  
  
From distance, Aleksei had seen a cyclone-like formation around which lighting had flashed strangely; he had instantly known that it had to be the Dark Anchor, so he had headed there. Suddenly the lightning had ceased and the cyclone had disappeared; when he finally reached the site, he noticed that the Anchor was there no more, since it had been destroyed. Soon he saw Linnea, who was holding something against her flank - and the arrow that was sticking out of her body. "Oh Gods, you're hurt!" he cried out to her, not being able to hide the anxiety and fear in his voice. Then he rushed to her and forced himself to check her injury.  
  
Linnea had not expected to meet Aleksei but she was relieved that he had come there. She realised that her injury most likely seemed worse than she as a healer considered it to be, so she pacified him: "This is not as bad as it looks like, dear. I just...made a mistake...and forgot to pull the arrow out before healing myself. It didn't go so very deep but now it's stuck, and because of its location it's a bit tricky for me to take out myself." "Oh...but to me, that looks quite horrible," he replied terrified. "I'm glad that you're here - because you'll help me to get it out, darling," she stated, while heating her dagger with arcane fire to cleanse it. Then she gave it to him - trying not to think about the inevitable pain she would experience - and advised him: "So you'll have to use this to dig it out. And don't mind the bleeding, it might look a bit nasty but I'll take care of it later, once you've gotten that thing out." She laid herself down, thus she did not see that he looked extremely shocked by her request.  
  
"Oh dear Gods help me," Aleksei said silently as he looked at the dagger and the arrow sticking out of his girlfriend. He had turned pale and his hands were shaking so that he wondered if he could even cut anything with the blade; soon he would have to see her blood, and even the idea of that made him feel dizzy. Then, to his great relief, he saw the Wyress that was running towards them and shouted to her: "Thank the Divines! Jenna, you must help me, I can't do this myself!" "What's happened here? Is she hurt?"  she asked him. "Not too badly, I just screwed up when healing myself," Linnea explained to her and continued: "We'll have to remove that arrow. I'd have done it myself but it's in a bit difficult place for me to reach." "Oh, right. I'll help you with that," the Wyress promised and took the dagger from Aleksei's shaking hands, asking: "Still afraid of blood, brother?" "Only if they're my friends or loved ones that bleed," he answered to her; even though it was always unpleasant for him to see blood, he had gotten somewhat used to it when he had had to arrest drunks that had been fighting. However, he always started to feel unwell if it was someone he cared for a lot that was bleeding. "Good thing that you didn't join the Covenant army, like father suggested back then," she stated and started to remove the arrow.  
  
"Now it's done, the arrow's out," Jenna told Linnea, who then felt something being cast onto her; it felt different from her own spell but she could sense that it was a healing spell. "Thank you. You did it much quicker than I expected you to," she replied, and smiled a bit. When she had removed the arrow, Linnea had felt more pain than she had experienced when she had taken it. With great effort, she had managed to hold back screaming; she had not wanted to startle Aleksei who appeared to be extremely stressed already. Then she asked her: "Are you a healer, too, by the way? I felt it when you cast a healing spell on me, even though it felt different from what I use." "Well, not in the same way as you probably are, I think. My magicka comes from the nature, I've always felt a strong connection to it. I discovered that I can also use its life force to heal myself and other people…and animals, too. You probably won't find these spells in any books," she explained to her. "Oh, that's interesting! I've sometimes thought I kind of... feel the energy and light of the sun inside of me when I cast some of my spells," she replied. Then she checked the site of her injury which was fully healed and added: "You did very good job there, I don't even have to heal myself, and there's no scar left. Thank you." "No problem," she said and then shouted to Aleksei, who had been inspecting the area nearby the Dark Anchor while she had helped her: "Hey, brother, you can come back, she's fine now. No horrible, bleeding wounds anywhere!"  
  
Aleksei returned to them, carrying a blanket he had found in the camp of the Worm Cultists who had been killed at the Anchor; he had noticed that Linnea did not have her winter cloak anymore. He tied it around her and held her tight in his arms. "You really got me scared, love," he whispered to her and then instructed her: "If you know how to ride, take my horse and return to the Daggerfall stables with it, I borrowed it from there. If you don't, Jenna can take it and take you there with her, she knows how to ride. I have to go to take care of things in the village now. When my troops come, we will chase those creatures away and put off the fires," but she did not agree with him. "I'm going to stay here and help you to save what's left of this village and then I'll investigate this area to find out what's going on here," she said to him. "I don't like that idea. You've been injured, so you should get back to Daggerfall and rest," he stated concerned. "No, I'm fine now! That wasn't such a big thing, it just looked much worse than it actually was, and your sister appears to be a good healer," she replied him. "And I'll stay here and help you, too," Jenna said but he instantly rejected her offer: "No, you'll go to the lumbermill with the other Wyrds. You're a Wyress, not a fighter!" "I couldn't hurt those creatures, even though they've turned against us now...but I can help you by healing and helping to put off those fires," she replied but he strongly disliked the idea and said to her: "Mother wouldn't allow that, so do as I say!" "I don't care! I'm not a child anymore, so stop talking to me like that," she shouted at him. “Damn it! I’m an officer of the Daggerfall City Guard now, so you must obey me, I could arrest you for disobeying me!” he yelled frustrated but she was not startled by what he had stated, and replied sarcastically: “We aren’t in Daggerfall now, so I don’t think you could, mister Officer.”

 Linnea wanted to cut off the dispute and offered: "She'll be alright with me. I'll make sure that nothing happens to her." Aleksei, who had turned his back against them, sighed and was silent for a while; he hated the idea of them coming to the mission with him. He would have to focus on leading his troops, so he could not protect his sister, and despite Linnea was a skilled battlemage, he was also worried about her, since she appeared to act so recklessly in the fights. He cursed the stubbornness that was so very typical for his family. He knew that he could not make his sister change her mind, so he turned around and replied to her upset: "Then make sure that you follow the orders she gives to you. And don't get my girlfriend killed because of your stupid idea to come with us."  
  
As they walked to Deleyn's Mill with haste, Jenna explained them what was she had found out; she refused to look at her brother but talked to Linnea instead. She had carefully searched through the docks but she had found nobody alive there anymore. When they reached the site of the village and stopped to wait at the road along which the troops would arrive, she asked Linnea: "Hey, what happened to those soldiers and to that guard that went to the Dark Anchor before you?" "Unfortunately, that city guard got badly injured, so the soldiers are taking him to Daggerfall," she replied. "Oh my...will he - is he..." she tried to ask terrified, and Linnea quickly added: "If they get him to the city, he'll make it. I really hope they act with haste, though." "I saw them close to Daggerfall when I came here, so I think they should be there already," Aleksei told Linnea; he did not want to look at his sister, when speaking. They were silent, while they waited for Aleksei's men to arrive; Aleksei and his sister were apparently both offended and sulking after their arguing at the Dark Anchor, and Linnea just stood there, feeling awkward. She wondered if she had had a family before she had ended up in Coldharbour - and whether there was someone out there, missing her and worrying about her disappearance.   
  
Then they heard that the troops were coming. So, Linnea kissed Aleksei, and wished him good luck, and promised that she would do everything she could to help him. His sister took something from the pocket of her robes, and gave it to him. "Take it. It's a healing extract I've made. In case you need it..." she said to him; even though she wanted to avoid eye contact with him, Linnea noticed that her anger towards him had started to subside as soon as she had heard his forces coming. He nodded, and said silently to her: "I have healing potions already...but thank you. Just...be careful now," "You too, brother! Spriggans and imps are normally peaceful if you keep your distance but these are different. And they can do serious harm if you fight against them," she said.  
  
The situation at the Deleyn's Mill had appeared to get significantly better; the sleeting and the moist weather had hindered the destruction caused by the fires. Aleksei and his troops had managed to get rid of most of the imps; thanks to his sister's and Linnea's healing, they were mostly unharmed, suffering from only minor burns. Since they had mostly eliminated the potential cause of more fires, Aleksei was about to command his men to start dispatching the spriggans, too, but then he noticed the soldiers coming to the village - the forces from the Lion Guard had finally arrived. Thus, he decided to first meet their leader, in order to coordinate their actions; the region was formally Lion Guard's responsibility to take care of but judged by the amount of the soldiers, the Lion Guard would significantly benefit from their assistance. He reported to their leader the current and previous events in the village and informed him about the strategy with which he had proceeded there.  
  
Their leader took off his helm and greeted him: "Oh, it's you _Alex_ , how do you do." Then he noticed his sister standing near him and continued: "And still babysitting your younger sister, that's so cute! So very nice of you to drag this bunch of city guards here to play heroes in this village that belongs to our regions - but totally unnecessary, of course. We'll take it from here now." Aleksei subtly clenched his fists. He had to do his best not to start openly raging to him; he knew him from their adolescent years and he appeared to have become even worse kind of a jerk as he had grown up. Aleksei put his arm around Linnea's waist and snapped at him, exaggerating to some extend: "If it wasn't for my girlfriend's rapid actions, this place would now be overrun by daedric abominations, too. I wonder if you had something better to do than to destroy a Dark Anchor that is _in the region that the Lion Guard is supposed to protect_?" He did not appear to be affected by his critic in any way, instead he calmly responded: "Of course I did. You don't think this is the one and only Dolmen in this region, do you? Well, it's always nice to meet you, _Alex_ but excuse me, I have some things that I have to take care of here now." Aleksei was enraged; he would have wanted to withdraw his men and leave with them at once. However, he forced himself to think about the innocent villagers who would now be the ones to suffer from his old grudge; the soldiers of the Lion Guard would require all the assistance they could get to put out the fires and to deal with the spriggans, if they wanted to minimize the amount of destruction in the village. Thus, he offered: "Since we're here already, I wonder if we could help you in some way." He smiled at him, looking arrogant while doing so, and said: "If you insist. You could order them to put out the fires, for example. I guess you'll also have to get your chance to impress your girl here," then he looked at Linnea and winked at her. She subtly showed Aleksei that she supported him and said sarcastically to the leader of the Lion Guard: "He doesn't have to make any kind of impression to the healer of his troops. But what really impresses me is that you didn't bring any healers here, yourself, considering the devastation this village is facing...it almost appears as if you didn't care at all about the citizens that you're supposed to protect."  
  
With their somewhat coordinated actions, the Lion Guard and the Daggerfall City guards successfully eliminated the treat posed to Deleyn's Mill and ended the devastation there. The Lion Guard would stay there in case of further attacks on the village. Aleksei planned to ask Captain Aresin if Daggerfall could provide the citizens of Deleyn's Mill with essential supplies that were lost in the disaster there -  he did not trust that the leader of the Lion Guard troops would be capable of even taking into account that kinds of things.

Jenna showed Linnea the corpses she had found at the docks earlier; she examined them, trying to assist with identifying them. One of them was burnt so badly that it was barely distinguishable anymore; by the looks of the teeth and mandible, Linnea concluded that it had been an orc male. The two other corpses had been a Breton woman and a Redguad male; they had been found in the water near the docks. Linnea took off her boots and lifted the skirt of her robes; she waded through the slush into the water and dragged them to the shore. They had several burns in their upper limbs and back but the cause of their death was most likely drowning. Linnea anticipated that their clothes had been set on fire by the fire balls dealt by the imps, thus they had jumped into the ice-cold water and drowned in there. She examined them carefully but did not find any personal items that could help to identify them. Later they would have to ask the villagers, if any of them would be able to recognise who they had been. Then Linnea decided to inspect the forest surrounding the village, hoping to find clues about what had originally caused the creatures of the forest to persistently attack on the place. She asked Jenna to go back to the village to check if healers would be required there and to tell Aleksei that she would be nearby and she would come back soon. Since darkness would fall soon, she would have to be quick if she wanted inspect the forest still during that day.  
  
She warmed herself with her fire spell and cast a mage light to light up her way in the twilight. She was cautious of the wild animals and other threats but the forest was silent and peaceful; she only heard the voice of the snow beneath her feet when she walked over it, and the sound of the wind that was swaying the trees around her. Then she noticed the red stains on the snow - she started to follow the trail of blood and found a dead Bloothorn cultist laying on the ground. She cursed angrily; she should have guessed that they were also behind the disaster of Deleyn's Mill. She inspected the dead bandit and found out that he had been killed by a wild animal, since he had deep biting marks in his neck that were obviously caused by a wolf or some other large predator. She checked his pockets and found a note that contained his orders: to usher the imps and spriggans to attack to the village and then to return to the Bloodthorns’ base and assist the other bandits to maintain the corruption of the Wyrd Tree. She noticed that there were some kinds of vines growing in the area surrounding the corpse.

The vines did not appear to be affected by the winter time and they looked foul and unnatural - they were also swaying slowly, despite that the winds had already relented. Linnea walked closer to them and stared at them for a while; they looked somewhat frightening and sickening. She slowly reached for them with her hand - as if they were a wild animal that might be either friendly or hostile - and fearfully touched them. She felt their coldness and unnatural magical activity; they started to slowly turn towards her hand. Her heart began to beat rapidly as she quickly pulled her hand away from them, fearing that soon they would entwine around her. She only heard her frantic breathing as she ran back to the village, and the forest around her felt surreal.  
  
"Stendarr's Mercy, Linnea, don't disappear like that ever again! Where did you get that idea to wander into a dark forest alone?" Aleksei shouted at her upset, when she returned to the village. She stood still for a while, catching her breath, and then explained: "Well, I was sent here to inspect what has happened here, and that's what I also intended to do. To find out what has caused these creatures to attack on innocent villagers." "Very well but you should have waited for me. I would have come there with you but I had to sort out some things here with that Lion Guard idiot first," he replied. "Oh, right. That guy didn't give a very nice first impression of himself," she stated. "Hah, he's always been such an arrogant jerk. I've known him ever since we were kids. We both lived in Daggerfall back then...But it was not about old things this time -  he accepted my offer that we possibly deliver aid to Deleyn’s Mill from Daggerfall. I don't trust that he truly is interested in helping these poor people here. Now I'll have to withdraw my troops from here, since he appears to be so certain that he can keep things under control. But before we leave, I want to personally thank the Wyrds for their aid to these people," he explained to her. "That sounds like a good idea. I also have information that should interest them," she said and continued: "So, I found a dead Bloothorn cultist in the forest. He had been ordered to make the spriggans and imps attack here. He was also supposed to assist the other bandits with maintaining the _corruption of the Wyrd tree_."  
  
When Linnea had told to the old Wyress, who appeared to be their leader, what she had found in the forest, she looked extremely concerned. Linnea asked whether she could assist them to chase away the corruption and to eliminate the threat posed to their sacred tree but she assured her that the Wyrds would be capable to take care of such things themselves. Then she asked Linnea and Aleksei to come outside with her, because she wished to speak with them privately; since Linnea appeared to already know about the matters she thought that she could tell them the whole truth as well.

The old Wyress revealed that she had already anticipated what kinds of events would be taking place in Glenumbra - the fact that Linnea had reported that the Bloodthorns had been involved had confirmed what she had feared. She stated that because obviously dark-natured magic was being used, and the enemy was spreading the corruption in such a destroying way now, the Wyrds would have to use the means she had wished to avoid, to stop the corruption. She looked sad, while telling them the reason why she had been reluctant to act earlier, even though she would have been able to rapidly cleanse the corruption from the Wyrd Tree with it. It would involve casting a powerful purifying ritual onto the tree - and it would require a human sacrifice; the Bloodthorn bandits would not be fitting to be sacrificed, since the person losing their life would have to be a volunteer to make the ritual succeed. Thus, she knew that the person most likely would be one of her Wyresses. Linnea nodded at her; she knew that no matter how harsh it was, some of the most powerful spells had their costs. However, Aleksei looked extremely shocked; he made the Wyress swear that the person sacrificed would not in any circumstances be his sister. Despite she promised him that it would not be her, he could not help but become extremely worried about what kind of savage cult her sister had gotten into when she had joined the Wyrds.  
  
Aleksei released the city guards from the duty and ordered them to get some well earnt rest. Before he and Linnea left, he informed his sister of everything he had found out; she looked sad but seemed to accept the way things would have to be done. Then, just before they left, she asked him: "Hey, by the way, next time we meet, could you bring me a dress, that kind of one that the lasses wear in Daggerfall these days? Something that looks fancy." "Oh, sure. But why do you need that?" he wondered. "Well, I think I'd draw too much attention on myself in Daggerfall, if I wore these robes there," she explained, and got him confusedly asking: "But I thought your people can't come within the city walls...that's why we always have to meet in the forest nearby, right?" "I don't think it matters if nobody finds out," she said and then blushed as she continued: "I'd like to meet that injured city guard...to find out how he's recovering, of course! I wonder if you know who he is, because you're working in the same place..." "Oh, he's my good friend, I can tell you how he's doing when we meet next time," he offered - and then realised what she was really up to and blushed heavily, too - and quickly added: "But of course you could visit him, that's a good idea!"  
  
Linnea and Aleksei walked back to the site where the Dark Anchor had been and took the horse he had left there; they were appalled that the leader of the Lion Guard soldiers had not understood to put some men guarding that place, since the Worm Cult could easily return in attempt to create a new Dolmen there. Aleksei forced himself not to think about that, since his duty in the village had been fulfilled, and the area was not in his control anymore.

As they rode back to Daggerfall together, they discussed about everything that had taken place during the day. Linnea admired greatly how he had managed to hold himself together, even though he had gotten into extremely stressful situations. Her own exhaustion started to show and she leaned against him; he was reigning the horse, so she could close her eyes and rest. She smiled deviously when she drowsily said to him: "Think about it, dear. We got to spend the Heart's Day together, after all."


	15. Calm Before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have calmed down after what happened in Deleyn's Mill but Linnea starts to wonder if this is only the calm before the real storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment :) I apologise for the probable grammar and such mistakes, since these newer chapters haven't been checked by a native English-speaker but I do expect that my writing skills have been improving during this writing process!

When the sun started to shine through the large window, to the corner of the room where the bed was, Linnea woke up. She yawned and shook her arm; it was numb, since she had apparently laid on it while sleeping. When the sensation came back to it, she dressed on her morning gown and was about to go to lit a fire to the fire place - like she usually did for first thing in the morning - but she saw that it already burned there. Then she noticed that Aleksei had obviously gotten up a lot earlier than she had, despite that it was his free day; he was sitting at the desk, having a half-empty cup of coffee in front of him. "Your coffee is already cold, dear. I'm going to fetch a cup for myself, so I could get you one, too while I'm at it, if you want," she offered, and he replied: "Oh, I kind of forgot I had that there. Thanks, that'd be nice."  
  
"There you go," she said, set a cup of steaming hot coffee onto the desk. Having noticed how absent-minded he looked, she warned: "Oh, it's very hot now, mind it," and asked: "What are you doing, by the way? You're writing something?" "Yes. A letter to the general of the troops in where those two Lion Guard soldiers that were at the Dark Anchor with you, serve. There will probably be some consequences for them of leaving the area they were commanded to patrol in and to defend. I will express my deepest gratitude to them for saving the life of one of my most trusted guards, and as an officer of the Daggerfall City Guard, I will most politely request their general that he will leave them unpunished, even though they broke their rules," he explained her, and continued: "Many leaders, like my father, have common sense, and would overlook such things but not all of them act like that. And you've met that jerk that led their troops at Deleyn's Mill, I bet he doesn't treat his men very well, especially not in these kinds of matters. That's why I'll address the letter directly to his superior." "But they saved a man's life, how could they get punished for that? And, I ordered them to take him to Daggerfall," she replied appalled. He sighed, and said: "Yes they did, and I'm eternally grateful to them for that. But still, they disobeyed the orders given to them, when they left the area. They weren't allowed to take orders from you, when you decided to start playing a hero and claimed to them that you could take down the Dark Anchor all alone."  
  
"And didn't I do so? What in Oblivion is wrong with you, I saved the life of your best friend there!" she shouted; she was confused and insulted by the way he had spoken to her. He stared at his coffee cup, and replied: "Yes you did...thank you. But I hate it when you take that kind of risks...It didn't come to your mind to wait until the reinforcements came there?" "I've taken down a Dolmen alone also before, you know that! And I knew I could do that by myself this time, too! That is what I do - did - I was a daedra hunter before -" she yelled at him frustrated, and he replied sarcastically: "Yeah, and how well did that end? You ended up in Coldharbour and lost your soul because of your little daedra hunting hobby!" Now she was on the verge of breakdown, and asked him desperately: "Stop that, please! Why do you do this, why do you act like that?"  
  
He squeezed the quill that he was holding so tight that it snapped; he took a deep breath and was silent for a moment. Then he said to her quietly: "I - I'm sorry, dear. But, you can't imagine what it was like to find you at the Dark Anchor, being injured...And before that I had found out that my best friend was also severely wounded. And then, when you asked me to remove the arrow, and I couldn't do it because I couldn't bear to see your blood...that feeling of being so damn helpless and unable to help my loved ones! If my sister hadn't come to help us, Gods only know what would have happened - " "There was no serious threat, dear, it was just a minor injury," she interrupted him, and assured: "You could just have said to me that you don't want to do it, and I would have tried to do it myself or waited until someone else would have come to assist me," but he interrupted her, too, saying: "Damn it! I am a coward who can't even bear to look when his loved ones bleed! When you were laying on the floor in the Castle of Daggerfall that night, being seriously wounded, I tried to staunch the bleeding and press my bracer against the injury but...then I fainted!" She gently touched his back, and reminded him: "But you did shout for help, so you saved me then, and you're no coward. Besides, you'll get eventually used to that, I'm sure of it!" "But I don't want to get used to see you bleeding from injuries!" he cried out. "I meant, you'll get used to see blood, if you have to. I used to be afraid of seeing my own blood but I'm not anymore," she convinced him, and embraced him.

"Hey Anton, you seem to be in a much better shape already," Linnea greeted their friend, and gave him the bag of sweet rolls she had bought for him; she and Aleksei had come to visit him. "Thanks, Lin! Yeah, I feel so much better already. The healers said that I should recover pretty fast," he said, and continued jokingly: "But of course not _that_ fast, so you'd better give me a proper amount of sick leave for this, Alex!" Linnea smiled at him, and said: "I think you're right about that, indeed! Could I check the wounds?" He took off his shirt, and she carefully unwrapped the bandages. "It seems that the healers did as excellent job with you as they did with me back then...and I could never make that pretty stitches, myself! The wounds look good overall but a large scar will remain after they've healed. If you want, I can make you an alchemical extract that should fade them,” she suggested but he stated: "Nope, thanks, I think I wouldn't mind having the scar. Cos just guess how it'll impress all the lasses when I tell them an epic story about the battle and then show the scar, right?" and winked at her. She laughed, and said: "Of course, how didn't I think about that! And now it seems like the lion’s got a sword, too," and pointed at the symbol of the Covenant that was tattooed on his chest; the most superior laceration was located so that it started from the paw of the lion that was standing with its two legs.  
  
She poured a small amount of Bugloss extract onto the wounds to prevent the possible festering and tied clean bandages onto them. Then she cast a basic healing spell to fasten the healing of the wounds and his overall recovering. She took the old bandages, and went to wash them in a washing tube that was in the corner of the room; meanwhile, Anton and Aleksei discussed about something.

When they were just about to leave, Anton asked Linnea to bring a glass of water to him, and when she was handing it to him, he subtly asked from her: "Hey, I remembered what you said to me and those soldiers at the Dark Anchor...about the Molag Bal cultists and your soul...Can I ask...what happened to you? She was extremely startled by his unexpected question; she accidentally dropped the glass onto the floor, and it shattered into pieces. "Oh, crap, I’m so sorry about that!" she cried out and then desperately started to gather the shards of the broken glass from the floor. "Wow, careful now, they're sharp, don’t cut your hands with them!” he warned her; having seen her reaction to his question, he apologised: “I'm so sorry, Lin, I shouldn't have asked it like that. Whatever it was about, it's not my business." Aleksei came to help her to clean the mess and then gave his friend another glass filled with water. "No, it's okay, I just didn't expect you to know about it," she stated; she did not remember having said anything like that back then. Then she said: "But I can't - I don't want to talk about it now. Alex can explain it to you if you wish but if you'd be so kind and wouldn't tell anyone else about what he says to you. Nobody else besides him knows about it."

After they had visited their friend, Linnea went to the Mages Guild to continue her alchemy work there. She helped Master Telleno to clear out the stocks; there were many ingredients that would have to be used soon, because they were getting old. Linnea suggested that she could take them as her payment for the previous weeks instead of gold, to which he gladly agreed on; she would make health-restoring potions of them, since she did not have any of them left after the events in Deleyn's Mill. While working at the alchemy laboratory, she told him about the disaster that had taken place there.  
  
"This is not getting any easier, I fear - on the opposite, we are facing darker times now. The dark clouds have been gathering above Tamriel, and it is only the matter of time when the real storm breaks," the Master Alchemist anticipated, referring to the Planemeld. "And then there are those Bloodthorn bastards attacking on the city and the areas nearby it," she added. "So, have you noticed that the Planemeld has accelerated recently?" she asked; she did not have a very good comprehension about the matter, due to her amnesia. "Well, actually I don't think that it would have escalated right now but it has slowly progressed all the time it has existed," he reckoned, and stated: "But those Bloodthorn attacks are a new thing, indeed. I have never seen such an organised group of bandits in Glenumbra before this all started. They doubtlessly take advantage of the havoc the Planemeld causes - or perhaps they are even linked to the Daedric Prince behind it in some way." "Do you think so?" she asked; she remembered the unnatural vines she had seen in the woods near the village, and the foul magic she had sensed around them. "Well, that was only my guess. I have no solid proof about it," he pointed out, and then said: "But it is late evening already. I think we could continue this work another time – could you come here again tomorrow afternoon?" "That's fine for me," she replied, and took off her apron.  
  
"Have you noticed that there would be a bigger threat in this area these days?” she asked Aleksei, when they were reading books and lying on the bed, and explained: “I mean, there have been those Bloodthorn attacks in the city and in Deleyn's Mill, and those two Dark Anchors here...but I can't remember what it was like before, so I can’t compare this to anything." "Oh, well...I had heard about the Dark Anchors before but there hadn't been one nearby. And there have been more restlessness and small crimes in the city recently, too, but I don't know if they have anything to do with the Bloodthorns or the Worm Cult," he answered.

"We talked about these attacks and the Planemeld with Master Telleno today. He thinks this is like calm before the storm - that things are going to get even worse, eventually," she told him, and continued: "After everything that has happened recently, I've started to think about the Planemeld more, and it really concerns me...I hate the idea of just waiting idle until the next crisis hits here." "I don't stress about that so much. I think the only thing I can do, is to do my work as well as I can - and that's what I would do in any case, whether there was be a Planemeld or not," he stated calmly, and then reassured her: "I think we have the threats to this city under control quite well, now that we have really started to realise them. For example, because many things are related to the dark magics now, Captain Aresin has started to co-operate more with the Mages Guild, concerning the protection of the city. We are going to have practices together, so that the guards can also practise to fight against mages, for instance."

"You have experience of fighting against the undead and those cultists and you are a talented mage. Maybe you could help us, too?" he asked. "Of course! I’ll help you as well as I can. I could spar you - to act like an enemy mage so that you could practise to fight against mages with me - and I could tell you about the Dark Anchors and things I've learnt about the Bloodthorns' way to act," she promised. "That sounds good. I'm sure that for once, the troops would have enough patience to listen carefully what they're taught, when it’s the hero of Daggerfall, who is lecturing to them," he replied smilingly. "Aren't they supposed to be disciplined and always pay attention to what they're told?" she asked him appalled. He laughed a bit, and explained: "Yes, of course - but when your colleagues from the Mages Guild teach us…do you think anyone really listens to Valaste giving a dull lecture about the theoretical basics of the destructive magic?"


	16. Reality and Other Falsehoods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea finds out about the Worm Cult's presence in Daggerfall. She also starts thinking about the matter of her lost soul more and ends up doing a hasty decision.

The city of Daggerfall was in chaos. Many houses were on fire, and the smoke made it difficult for Linnea to breathe. There were daedric creatures roaming on the streets, and people ran away from them in terror. The Daggerfall City Guard troops were trying to defend the city and the citizens but the situation was out of their control. Linnea noticed that many guards were wounded, and she had no idea where Aleksei was; she was desperately trying to find him, while casting healing onto the injured guards and fighting against the daedras. There was a thunderstorm straight above the city and its strong winds and hailstones falling from the pitch-black skies hindered her.

Then she saw the source of the destruction - a Dark Anchor that had landed on the Daggerfall market place - and headed towards it. When she reached the site of the Dolmen, she saw that her friends had been fighting there but now they all were severely wounded; she saw Aleksei fighting on the opposite side of the Anchor - he was there alone, and greatly outnumbered by the abominations of Molag Bal. She ran to him to help him but before she reached him, she felt a strong blow and a sharp pain on her flank and fell onto the ground; she had failed to notice a clannfear that had rushed onto her. She smelled the odour of brimstone and sulphur; she felt like she was lifted up into the skies.

A bit later she was standing alone on a field that had perished, next to a burnt house. She was frozen from shock, and it felt to her as if the time stood still; the only thing that broke the deadly silence was the cold autumn wind that blew from the sea, making a windchime that was hanging on a branch of a charred, dead apple tree, play its haunting melody. Suddenly an infernal voice of the Daedric Prince invaded her mind, and she held her head in agony. As she heard the voice of Molag Bal speaking the words _'I will torture you forever and I will destroy the ones you love',_ it felt like they were devouring her.  
  
Linnea gasped for air, as she woke up from her nightmare - still hearing the echo of the voice of the Daedric Prince inside of her - and held back screaming. She slowly realised that it had only been a bad dream; she had started to have nightmares more frequently after what had happened in Deleyn's Mill. She looked at Aleksei, who was peacefully sleeping next to her. She was grateful that her nightmares had not woken him up anymore; probably he had gotten used to them already.

She loved him so much that it hurt. The times were getting darker also in Daggerfall, and the fear of something bad happening to him often kept her from sleeping at nights. Besides that, she also worried about her lost soul. She did not feel its absence in any way but she was certain that it had to affect her in some way – and suddenly the devastating fear hit her. What if the Daedric Prince would suddenly use her soul to take control over her? She was not sure if that could happen but she could not rule out that possibility. She kept on staring at Aleksei, who was in a deep sleep, and she could not hold back her panic. What if the Daedric Prince would avenge her, and make her attack on her loved ones?

She could not stay near him due to the fear of ending up hurting him against her own will, so she got up and dressed, took her cloak and rushed out of their room. Now that she came to think about the things concerning herself further, she remembered that she had interacted with Sheogorath - the Daedric Prince of Madness – too. The more she thought about the matter, the more convinced she became that she was a great risk to her loved ones. She was shaking, and her heart beat too fast. She walked along the corridor feeling anxious; every shadow looked like some evil force was lurking in there, ready to invade her mind. Then, at the corner of the corridor, she saw that a shadow of a human approached her, and it reached her own shadow. She lit her mage light to chase the shadows away - and then she recognised the source of the other shadow, the guard that was keeping watch in the castle.  
  
"Oh, by Sheogorath's Madness, you startled me!" the guard cried out, and then wondered: "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" "Sorry I didn't mean to," Linnea replied, when she had gotten over her own fright, and shortly explained: "I can't sleep tonight anymore." "Suffering from insomnia, perhaps? This is a bit lonely post, so if you want someone to chat with, feel free to join my company," she suggested but Linnea politely rejected the offer: "Thank you but I really have to be alone now. That's why I'm walking to the northern tower, away from the living quarters." "Really? There? Honestly speaking, that place sends shivers down my spine...you haven't heard the stories about the old part of the castle, have you?" she wondered. "No, I haven't but I'm not easily startled by that kinds of tales, and I find it peaceful there," she replied, and kept on walking.

She climbed up the stairs leading to the old tower and felt how the air got colder there. That part of the castle was not in use anymore, thus it was not heated. In the tower room, there were crates and shelves that contained old books; they appeared to be forgotten and abandoned in there, since they were covered with a thick layer of dust. She lit up a candle that was left there and started to examine the books, trying to get her thoughts away from her concerns. One of them, a tome called _Reality and other falsehoods_ , caught her attention. When she was reaching for it, the wind blew from the broken window screen extinguishing the flame of the candle. In the darkness, she saw that something was emitting light behind her at the entrance of the tower room.  
  
She turned around and saw the projection of the Prophet there. She stood still as he greeted her: "Good evening, Vestige. I hope I didn't scare you or appear in a wrong moment." "No, not at all...or not too badly anyways," she whispered, and let him explain his sudden appearance: "However, I have an important reason to contact you. The evil is lurking in the shadows of Daggerfall. You have to come to the Harbourage immediately, I will explain everything to you there." She promised to get there at once, and the projection of the Prophet disappeared.

As she walked away from the tower with haste, she bumped into the same guard again, who cried out: "Oh Stendarr's Mercy, you're so pale and look like you have seen a ghost! Was there...did you encounter something...unnerving there?" "No, there was nothing like that, there. Nothing to do with some ridiculous ghost stories, I just got startled by some bats and almost fell in the stairs, silly me!" she claimed. "Oh, that's good - I mean not it that you almost had an accident but the fact that there was nothing unnatural, there," she replied her seemingly relieved.  
  
Linnea realised that she should probably explain her absence to Aleksei in some way, since he always got so angry when she disappeared without telling him where she had gone. Since she did not want him to know about the Prophet and things related to him, she decided to lie about her plans. She fetched a piece of paper and a quill; she wrote him a note where she told that there had been an emergency in the Mages Guild and she had had to go there to assist Valaste and the others. She quietly entered their room and left the note onto his nightstand. Then she took her sword, dagger and some potions with her, and left the room; she was relieved that Aleksei had not woken up, so she had not have to lie to him right now.  
  
As Linnea left the castle, the chilly wind greeted her outside. It was already the beginning of First Seed but the dying winter still held Daggerfall and Glenumbra tight in its grasp; even though the sunny days were occasionally somewhat warm, the cloudless nights following them were freezing. The city was silent, since its dwellers were sleeping in their homes. She walked the empty streets; at the city gates she saw a guard at his post. As she came closer, she noticed that he was William, Aleksei's good friend. Since she could not pass him by unnoticed, she greeted him.

"Oh, hello, Linnea! Why do you want to go outside of the walls at small hours?" he wondered. "Well, I have urgent things to take care of there...unfortunately I can't tell more about it," she replied. "Very well...but should I be aware of something? Anything I could help with?" he asked a bit concerned, being confused by her mysterious answer. "Oh, no. This is my personal business," she claimed, since she did not want outsiders to get involved in the things concerning the Prophet and his errands. "Okay, I understand, you don't have to open it up for me if you don't want to," he replied quickly; probably it would be for the best that he did not know more about her personal matters. She was relieved that he did not ask more questions; she wished him goodnight and continued walking to the Harbourage.  
  
In the Harbourage, the Prophet and Lyris Titanborn revealed the worrying news they had; they had found out that there was an agent of Mannimarco - the leader of the Worm Cult - in the city of Daggerfall. They all agreed that she should try to find that agent at once, since they did not know what he was up to; they considered him to be dangerous, as Mannimarco's followers were powerful necromancers. Unfortunately, all they knew was that the agent was an Imperial male. Thus, everything she knew about her next mission was that she was chasing an Imperial, who was a powerful necromancer, lurking within the Daggerfall city walls, probably planning his next move. They thought that it would be for the best that she would not take Lyris with her, since a tall Nord woman could draw too much attention to herself in the city. Thus, she would have to deal with the agent alone, and return to Harbourage to inform them, when her job would be done.  
  
When she was returning to the city, she met William at the gates again. "Back already? Good, cos there are plenty of wolves in this region, even near the city, now," he said to her. "They always say so...but actually I've never had to deal with any of them," she replied. Then she understood that he was her best chance to discreetly get more information about the Worm Cult spy, and asked: "By the way, have you noticed a shady Imperial man here in the city? He is a wizard, so maybe he's also dressed like such." "Actually, I have. A couple of days ago, I saw an Imperial guy...he got me suspicious right away. I'd have preferred not to allow him to enter but of course I could do nothing about him, cos I had no proof that he's gotten involved in something illegal," he said, and asked: "So you're after him, right...can I ask why?"

First, she did not intend to reveal anything to him but then she thought that someone in the City Guard should probably know about the matter, and she also needed more information about the spy. She knew that Aleksei trusted William completely, so she considered that she could trust him, too. "Well, things are getting worse here. I found out that there is a Worm Cult spy in the city. I'm tracking him down, trying to find him before he causes havoc here. The fewer persons know about this, the better, so I'd ask you not to tell about this to your comrades. Except for Aleksei and Captain Aresin, I think they're the ones that should be aware of this, too," she explained, and asked: "Do you know where the spy might be now?" "Aye...but this is just my guess. I think he’s in that abandoned house near the city wall, outlaws tend to like that kinda  places. He could also be in the tunnels below this city but I think a guy who looks like that, wouldn't like to socialize with the lowlife living in them," he assumed. "There are tunnels beneath the city?" she asked surprised; she had not known about them before. "I think every bigger city has them. Connected to the sewer system...filthy places filled with thieves, murderers, skooma dealers and such folks," he replied, and stated: "I'll get someone else to this post and come with you to the abandoned house."  
  
"Damn it!" Linnea cursed, when her lock pick broke again; despite that the house was abandoned, it had a quite complex lock on its door, and the windows were too small to fit through. Her friend looked around to make sure that nobody was watching, and said to her: "Let me do that for you." He took the lock pick from her, easily picked the lock, and said: "There you go." "Wow, that was quick...but how in Oblivion have you learnt to pick a lock?" she wondered aloud. "Well, the main thing is that it's open now. Let's go inside," he said but she replied: "I'd like you to stay here and keep watch so that nobody enters this house after me.” "But shouldn't you have someone to watch your back in there?" he asked a bit concerned. "I'd love to...but as I said, this is kind of a personal business, so I'd prefer to go and face the spy alone,” she explained. “Besides, there is a great risk of collateral damage, if two powerful mages end up in a duel, as you should have learnt, if you paid any attention in my lectures during the training sessions Captain Aresin arranged," she continued, smiling deviously. "Aye...I'll stay here, then, and make sure that nobody follows you in there," he promised.  
  
She had searched through the house but she had not found anything or anyone there. When she was just about to give up, she noticed the cellar door that was partially hidden. She took her last lock pick from her pocket, and tried to get the door open but the lock pick cracked and the door remained closed. She was frustrated but then she remembered that her friend still had the one that he had used; she went back out, and asked him to come to help her to get into the cellar. He examined the door for a while - then he pulled it open, and said: "It wasn’t locked, it was just tight." He gave the lock pick back to her, and stated: "You know it's not legal to carry these around like that, not to mention to use them to trespass a house - but if you won't tell anyone that I picked the lock, I won't arrest you for this. And I don't have to know where you got these in the first place," smiling and winking at her, while saying it. Linnea laughed a bit, and joked back: "Oh, that's so nice of you! I hope that Alex won't find this and arrest me, either!"

"Actually, this is my last one, and I'd need these in certain kinds of assignments..." she continued. "Well, you didn't hear this from me but I’m sure that some blacksmiths sell those, if you ask for them subtly...I don't think anyone really cares how you get into a house, if you're on our side, and doing it because of your mission," he assumed. "I'll keep that on my mind, thanks," she replied, and asked him before going into the cellar: "Would you make sure that I get out of there...I mean, to open the door for me, if I can't push it open myself, and it gets closed. And don't follow me down, no matter what, really... Gods help us if we both got trapped in there. I kind of - feel unwell when imaging of getting trapped beneath the ground!"

The cellar turned out to be more complex than a mere small storage which houses usually had under them. She found a tunnel leading further beneath the ground; it was dark there, so she lit her mage light and drew her sword, being ready to defend herself but she saw no one. However, when she reached the end of the tunnel, she quickly put off the light, since she noticed someone standing in the room where it led to - by the looks of him, he had to be the spy. There were several bones and corpses laying on the floor; everything in the room indicated to necromancy.

The necromancer had not noticed her appearance, since he was intensively examining an orb that was emitting red light in the middle of the room. Linnea intended to use the element of surprise as her advantage, thus probably eliminating him with ease but then she changed her plans; she wanted to try to get him to reveal something potentially useful first. "Tell me what you're planning to do in Daggerfall, and I'll grant you a swift death, or perhaps even let you live," she tried to intimidate him. He quickly turned to look at her; he appeared to be a bit startled by the unexpected intruder but he was not scared of her at all. "You will never find it out, hero! Master will be pleased when he gets you to Coldharbour as his newest plaything," he replied, and laughed coldly.  
  
Thus, they began to fight - her enemy appeared to be a skilled battlemage. He blocked her spells with the strong magical shield he cast; on the other hand, he did not manage to deal any damage to her, even though she considered her shield to be significantly weaker than his. Then he suddenly cast a strange magical rune onto the ground, and a giant bone colossus crawled out of it. Linnea had not seen such thing before but she anticipated that it could cause her severe harm with its strikes; her enemy certainly had the upper hand, since now she would have to fight against them both. She dodged both the strikes of the colossus and the spells the necromancer cast onto her, thus she could not focus on doing any damage on her enemies.

She realised too late that she had been chased into a corner. Moreover, the colossus apparently could cast spells of its own, since she noticed that she was stuck onto something it had created onto the ground so that she could not move. Nevertheless, she could almost totally dodge the large fire ball the necromancer threw at her, so that it only lightly touched her arm and flank and then blew up against the wall behind her. Then she noticed that the bone colossus which she had desperately run away from, quickly approached her, being ready to strike again - and the necromancer was already preparing to cast his next spell that, by the look of his ritual, she estimated to be significantly greater of its magnitude than the previous one had been. She knew that she could not block those two strikes simultaneously, thus she had to choose only one of her enemies to deal with, no matter what.  
  
Now the necromancer was defenceless; he was occupied with the ritual for casting the spell and he appeared to totally ignore her, since he probably believed that the colossus would take care of her. Thus, she decided to ignore the dreadful bone abomination, hoping for the best, and to focus on eliminating the necromancer. She quickly created a large spear of sun fire, and aimed it towards his head. When it pierced its target, he immediately fell lifeless onto the ground; the ritual for his spell was left incomplete, causing a massive explosion around him which maimed his body but due to the distance, left her unharmed. The bone colossus had just raised its gigantic arm above her and was about to crush her with it - but as soon as its master had fallen, the necromantic forces had left it, thus it never got its chance to hit her but collapsed onto the floor, shattering into the bony structures it had originally been formed of. Linnea sighed from relief; she had assumed that the minion would not stay 'alive' without its master but she had not been entirely sure about that.  
  
After the necromancer and his creation had been defeated, the foul magic of the colossus disappeared, and she got free from the ground she had been stuck onto. She walked to the centre of the room and picked up the red-glowing orb that had fallen from its pedestal during their combat. She was staring at it, wondering what its purpose would be, when suddenly its glow intensified - and then she saw a projection of a man. It started to talk to her, just like the Prophet and the Arch-Mage did when they wanted to communicate with her. He presented himself as Abnur Tharn and he appeared to know Lyris and the Prophet. He instructed her to tell them that he knew where a Redguard man called Sai Sahan was held as a prisoner - he would not reveal his location to her now.  
  
When he was done with speaking to her, his projection disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She was confused, like she always was after having talked with a projection; she could never be sure whether they were only her hallucinations or if they had really been existing. She tried to focus her attention elsewhere to get herself back together, so she examined the orb further. Since she did not understand anything about it - besides the fact that it had somehow created the projection of Abnur Tharn in front of her - she decided to take it to the Harbourage with her. Maybe the Prophet, being a wise, old mage, could find out its purpose, and whether it could be used for their own agenda in some way. Thus, she put it into the largest pocket of her cloak and left the room. As she walked towards the entrance of the tunnel, she heard that someone was coming from there, so she drew her sword and prepared herself for another fight - but instead of an enemy, she saw her friend coming into the room.  
  
"Thank the Divines, you're alright, Linnea!" he shouted, and continued: "I first heard explosions but when they stopped, I thought the fight was over - and when you didn't start to show up, I began to think that you were injured or worse." She got upset by his appearance, and yelled distraught: "You idiot! I told you to stay waiting outside! If the cellar door gets closed now, we'll both be trapped in this forsaken place! Nobody knows where we are and finds us, we'll die in here slowly and in agony!" and sprinted towards the door. She had just started to feel the pain caused by the burns she had gotten during the combat but she did not let them hinder her flight; she did not stop until she was back on the surface, in the abandoned house. Her friend also got there soon after her. "You should know that I never let my friends down. If I suspect that you're injured and need me, I'll come to help, I won't just stand here waiting," he said to her. "I- I-'m so sorry I yelled at you like that…thank you, I appreciate your help, I really do...it's just...the fear of getting stuck under the ground, the thought of it, it was just overwhelmingly terrible. I’m afraid of getting trapped," she revealed to him. "No worries about that," he replied and smiled at her in a friendly way, and then showed her the door, explaining: "And hey, I'm not stupid. Look, I put it so that it can't get closed on its own. Besides, I think I could have pushed it open, even if it had shut while we were down there." She felt ashamed of having lost her nerves like that; caves, cellars and such places were frightening to her, if she could not be sure that she could get out of them easily.  
  
She took her robes off to examine the burns she had gotten. Fortunately, they were only superficial but a large area of her left arm and flank were scalded. Her friend grimaced, when he saw them, and cried out: "Ouch, those look pretty nasty." "Yeah, but they're not very deep, so they're quickly healed," she stated; she took a healing potion and poured the liquid from it onto the injuries. Then she cast healing onto the damaged areas; as she moved her hand above them, they were instantly healed completely. "Just like I told you," she said and laughed at her friend’s amazed expression. "Wow, that was really quick, and now it seems as if they never were there...without the magic stuff, they would’ve taken a long and a painful time to heal, aye," he wondered. "Probably yes," she assumed, and added: "Luckily, I didn't have to find out how long, cos I still have job to do. Maybe you should report to the Captain and Alex about what happened here, when they start their days. I'll explain the situation in a greater detail to them, when I return."

It was already morning, when Linnea left the Harbourage, and walked back to the city. The first rays of the rising sun reached the treetops, and the light faded out the stars and the moons. The city started to wake up, as its dwellers began to prepare for the coming day. Linnea yawned; she was totally exhausted by the lack of sleep, not only caused by the events of the night but also due to the insomnia she had been suffering from during the past couple of weeks, because of her recurrent nightmares. Before trying to finally get some rest, she decided to meet Captain Aresin, and tell him about what had happened during the night - Aleksei would probably still be sleeping, and she did not want to wake him up yet, so that he could still rest a bit more before his long working day. She found the Captain in his office; he always started his day earlier than the officers, and worked till the late hours. She explained him what had happened, and they discussed about the matter for a great while.  
  
"These are unnerving news, indeed, especially combined with the ones I have heard about the town of Aldcroft and the city of Camlorn," the Captain said. "What is going on there, then?" she asked concerned. "It has been difficult to get more specific information from there but based on rumours, it has something to do with werewolves or other undead creatures, and especially the situation in Camlorn worries me. Usually I would have laughed at such rumours but this time I'll take them seriously," he revealed to her.

Suddenly Linnea felt that she could think very clearly, despite her massive tiredness; she considered that she had just discovered a solution to the problems that had been troubling her. "I could go there to investigate the situation and get information about it for you," she suggested to the Captain. If she was away from her loved ones, she would not be a threat to them, and if the Worm Cult and Bloodthorns were after her, they would follow her there, away from Daggerfall.  
  
"I'd appreciate that, it would be beneficial, indeed - but you do know that Aleksei would have to stay here, right?" the Captain asked her astonished. "Yes, I do," she replied shortly. He was silent for a moment, and then said to her: "Oh I don't mean to intrude but...does it mean that you two have some problems in your relationship? I don't know so much about such matters but I do know that running away from them is never a good solution." She stared on the floor in front of her, when replying: "No we don't have any issues...it's just that...I have to get out of here. I feel like being cornered in here, like trapped within the city walls. There are my enemies everywhere around me, so it's for the best for everyone that I get out of here for a while - the sooner the better." "Very well, then. I'll write you a letter with my recommendations. You can show it to the authorities of Aldcroft and Camlorn, if needed. I think that if they recognise that you’re the hero of Daggerfall, they’ll be more than happy to accept your help. I suggest you start from Aldcroft, since it's closer to Daggerfall...but feel free to come back home, if you change your mind about this or start missing your loved one too much," he said. He did not have a family of his own, and he had become somewhat close with Aleksei and Linnea, thus he truly cared about their well-being.  
  
When she returned to their home, she noticed that Aleksei had already woken up and put his uniform on, and was about to leave. "Good morning, love, I just read your note. Everything fine in the Mages Guild now?" he asked. She hesitated to reply for a moment - but he would find out the truth eventually, since she was strongly connected to the events that he would inevitably become aware of, thus she revealed the truth to him.  
  
When she had finished, he walked away from her, and remained silent for some time; she knew that he was enraged. Finally, he replied to her extremely angrily: "Damn it! How many times have I asked you not to play a hero and go chasing the enemy alone? Gods only know what could have happened to you!" Then he sighed and continued: "And don't you understand how humiliating it is to me that you decided not to tell about this to me first – to an officer of the Daggerfall City Guard - but then asked help from my friend instead?" "I didn't intend to tell about this to anyone in the first place but then it turned out that he had information that was essential to me. This is my personal problem, probably this all is about things I've gotten involved in concerning the Worm Cult. I don't want to drag anyone else with me into this mess I've caused," she tried to explain to him but she got him even more upset. "Don't you remember that I've promised to keep you safe? And I’ve sworn to protect this city, so I'm definitely not afraid of that bandit scum!" he yelled at her. "Don't ever underestimate the Worm Cultists, they're not just a bunch of stupid bandits. Many of them are powerful wizards and necromancers, and you should be scared of them cos I've probably angered them and the Daedric Prince they worship!" she shouted back frustrated. "And, you should also be afraid of me!" she cried out, and suddenly burst into tears.  
  
"What do you mean with that, love?" he asked confused; he was startled by her unexpected reaction, and rushed to pacify her. "I - I don't have my soul, Molag Bal has it now...don't you understand what it means?" she asked miserably. He took her into his arms, and replied to her silently: "I don't think I understand what you're trying to say with that." "What if he suddenly takes control over me? What if I - attack on you unexpected? Aren't you afraid of that?" she asked, and started to cry again. He held her tight, and answered: "No, I'm not afraid of you, love." "You should be...every night you sleep next to me...and you're totally defenceless then...how can you trust me anymore, when you think about that…" she said, while weeping.

He thought about it for a moment, and then replied: "I don't think that's going to happen. Why wouldn't the Daedric Prince have done that earlier? There has been plenty of situations where he certainly would have taken the control over you to change your behaviour, if he had been able to." He paused, and then continued: "The only thing I'm worried about you, is that you're so...reckless. I fear that you get badly hurt, when you do improvident maneuvers in the battles and such." "I can take care of myself, you don't have to worry about that, dear!" she tried to assure him but he replied: "I've been thinking that you shouldn't take assignments anymore. You know you wouldn't have to work at all if you didn't want to, my incomes are large enough for that." "Yes I do have to work," she objected, and then revealed: "And, I'm planning to go to Aldcroft next." "So far away from here?" he replied appalled, and asked desperately: "Let's reconsider that, please?" but she claimed: "I already promised to Captain Aresin that I’ll go. It’s important to him, and I intend to keep my word." He embraced her, and said sadly: "I have to go to work now, dear, I'm a way too late already. But please, let's discuss about this in the evening again, when I come back home."  
  
She nodded and then kissed him before he left but she had already made her decision - as soon as he had gone away, she started to pack for the journey. She did not feel tired at all anymore - maybe because she was so greatly sleep-deprived already that she felt paradoxically alert - and got herself ready to go quickly. She would go to the Mages Guild, and inform Master Telleno that she would travel to Aldcroft for an undetermined period of time; after that, she would leave the city at once. She wrote a letter to Aleksei and left it onto their bed. She did not want to think about his reaction when he would read it; she had become totally convinced that she had to get out of Daggerfall before something terrible would happen to her loved ones because of her presence in the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> William is also my OC, and I write about him and his background story in my ESO fan fiction short story "The Skull and the Heart".
> 
> Feel free to comment :) Are there too many things happening too fast in the chapters and is this too difficult to follow?


	17. To Camlorn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An overwhelming number of things has happened to Linnea in only a few weeks! She has saved Duke Sebastian from a terrible fate in Aldcroft and is about to head to Camlorn with him next - but first she has to take care of something in Daggerfall, since she gets an unexpected opportunity to fast travel to that city and then straight to Camlorn from there.

_"Dear Aleksei, I apologise that I left so suddenly but I really did not have a choice in the matter. I must also apologise that even though in the letter I left to you, I promised to come back to you after my job in Aldcroft would be finished, I will not do so. I promised to the Duke of Camlorn that I would help him, and go to the city of Camlorn next..."_ Linnea started to write a letter but then she waded the paper, held it in her wrist, and burnt it into ash with her spell. She cursed aloud; the whole town of Aldcroft would run out of paper before she could get herself to write a proper letter to Aleksei, and to actually send it to him. Besides, she was running out of time; at dawn, the courier would leave with the post to deliver it to Daggerfall. The next chance to send mail from the town would be after a week - and she intended to be in Camlorn by then.  
  
So much had happened after she had left Daggerfall; just when she had walked through the city gates, the Prophet had appeared to her again, requesting her to return to the Harbourage. Abnur Tharn, the man whose projection Linnea had interacted with earlier, had demanded to speak with her again. He had asked her help to get out of Coldharbour where his master - Mannimarco himself - had forced him to stay; he would reveal where to find Sai Sahan in exchange. Linnea recalled that both Tharn and Sai Sahan had been members of the Five Companions - the ones that had seeked out the Amulet of Kings - along with Lyris, the Prophet and originally, also Mannimarco. Lyris had first objected the idea, since she appeared to hate him greatly but the thought of finding Sai Sahan had seemed to matter her most, thus they had agreed to accept Abnur Tharn's unexpected request. Linnea had again entered the dreadful plane of Molag Bal - but this time not alone, since Lyris had come there with her. Together, they had managed to rescue Abnur Tharn from his prison in Coldharbour - even Mannimarco himself had tried to stop them but they had succeeded in taunting him and escaping the realm. Linnea had found out the true intentions of Mannimarco from Abnur Tharn; they sounded completely insane to her.  
  
The rescue mission in Coldharbour had felt extremely bizarre to Linnea, as did the events before her departure from Daggerfall feel surreal to her afterwards; it was difficult for her to distinguish the things that had really taken place from her nightmares. Due to the sleep-deprivation, she had been so very exhausted before she had left the city; however, she had suddenly become paradoxically alert right before leaving.

She had not slept well first, when she had arrived in Aldcroft - and yet, she had felt like she had not required any rest at all, since she had had so incredibly many things to take care of there! Now, after a couple of well-slept nights (or rather, a couple of well-slept days and nights), thanks to the nightshade extract she had bought from the alchemist of the town, the events that had taken place in Aldcroft and the regions near it, also felt like a distant dream to her.  
  
She had gone through a lot in a short time, indeed. Not only had she played a large role in saving the town of Aldcroft from a wicked plot to corrupt the place but she had also - with the irreplaceable help from Gloria Fausta, Duke Sebastian's now deceased bodyguard - saved the Duke of Camlorn from a horrible fate. Moreover, she had found out that the city of Camlorn had been taken by the werewolf leader Faolchu and his dreadful army consisting of such creatures. She had learnt that Faolchu had once before been defeated in the Battle of Glenumbra Moors but now a necromancer called Angof the Gravesinger - the leader of the Bloodthorns, who was behind the havoc all over Glenumbra - had brought him back to life. The Lion Guard was organising its troops, planning to retake Camlorn but it would be near impossible for them to slay the powerful monster with the resources they had. Fortunately, in some still incomprehensive way to her, Linnea had also gained the knowledge about Faolchu’s great weakness; the beast would be susceptible to fire. She had promised to Duke Sebastian that she would join the mission to retake Camlorn, since he considered that she would be a significant asset to the Lion Guard; she would travel there with him, meet the troops and let them know what she had learnt of Faolchu.  
  
Thus, she would leave Aldcroft with the Duke and his soldiers within a couple of days; now, in the pale shine of her mage light, she was trying to write the letter to her loved one. She missed Aleksei greatly but the Duke required her assistance - and more importantly, she felt relieved not to be close to the people that mattered to her. She was not totally convinced anymore that her presence in Daggerfall would pose them an inevitable threat but the thought of that still persistently haunted her. She was certain that she would have to go to Camlorn next but she was not sure what she would do after that. Most likely she would continue assisting the Lion Guard as long as she could, and hopefully they would eventually slay Angof the Gravesinger; she would make him pay for everything he and his Bloodthorn bandits had done.  
  
She noticed that her mage light started to glow strangely; then she saw that, in fact, the glow did not come from her spell but there was a projection of Arch-Mage Shalidor standing in front of her. She greeted him politely; eventually, she had gotten so very used to communicating via projections that his appearance did not disturb her at all. The Arch-Mage stated her that she should come to the Mages Guild at once, explaining that she would not have to stay in there for a very long time - and knowing that she was in Aldcroft, he cast a portal through which she could travel to the guild hall in Daggerfall. After their job would be finished there, he or Valaste could open her another portal to the destination she would want to go to. She took the last piece of paper she had, and wrote on it; she left a note onto her bedroll, explaining that she had had to leave Aldcroft but she would meet the Lion Guard leaders in Camlorn, eventually. Since she would shortly have to visit Daggerfall before going to Camlorn, she could - or rather, she would have to - meet Aleksei again; no matter how greatly she feared the idea of saying farewells to him face to face, she knew that she owed that him.  
  
Travelling through the portal was as unpleasant to her as travelling through them always was; soon she noticed, though, that she was in the large main hall of the Mages Guild in Daggerfall. Valaste was waiting for her there and greeted her, then she quickly explained to her that she should visit The Shivering Isles in order to retrieve the second tome they lacked. Arch-Mage Shalidor's project was not Linnea's highest priority at the moment but she agreed on to assist in it again; she would have had to wait in Aldcroft for a couple of days, if she had travelled to Camlorn together with the Duke, thus helping the Arch-Mage would not hinder her arrival in Camlorn.

She entered the portal Valaste cast for her, and ended up in the realm of the Mad God. There Haskill greeted her, and presented her the tasks she would have to perform to get the book she was looking for; this time she would have to acquire the two items back that Lord Sheogorath had misplaced during different eras. Naturally, her job turned out to be even more complex than it had first sounded but she succeeded in it, nevertheless.

When she returned with the items, Sheogorath appeared next to Haskill; he was extremely delighted to get them back, and granted her his permission to take the tome called _Circus of Cheerful Slaughter_ from its pedestal. Then he said to her with a pitiful tone: "But oh, dear _mortal_! Always getting things for others…shouldn't you try to find the stuff you've lost here, first?" but then continued cheerfully: "Oh, no no no! Nevermind! I guess it would spoil all the fun, wouldn't it? Hahaa yes it would!" Linnea had no idea of what he was talking about - her soul was in Coldharbour, not in The Shivering Isles, that was sure - but she did not even get a possibility to ask him what he meant, since as soon as she had grabbed the book, she was teleported back to the guild hall on Tamriel.  
  
Linnea was first confused by the words Sheogorath had spoken to her but she got over it quickly. As she handed the book to Valaste - who again promised that she would be informed when her aid would be required again - she saw that a man who was wearing Mages Guild's robes approached her. As he came closer, she recognised him to be Abnur Tharn; he insisted on that they should go to the Harbourage immediately, since it would be time to rescue Sai Sahan from Coldharbour, where he was being held as a prisoner. Thus, they travelled to the Harbourage at once - via a portal he created.  
  
As Linnea walked back to Daggerfall from the Harbourage, she thought about their mission to rescue Sai Sahan, which they had just successfully completed; they had managed to bring him back to Tamriel, and he would slowly start to recover from the mental wounds he had gotten when he had been held as a prisoner, tortured by the Daedra. When he would be ready, they would start planning how to stop the Planemeld. In Coldharbour, they had also encountered an honourable knight called Sir Cadwell; they had offered him a chance to come to Tamriel with them -  he would live in the Harbourage from now on.  
  
Surprisingly, Linnea had not felt so tremendously anxious anymore when entering Coldharbour; she wondered if she was eventually getting used to visiting that realm. On the other hand, she had not had to go there alone anymore; maybe the company of Lyris Titanborn had pacified her there. They had had to fight against the wicked daedra but thanks to her healing, they had remained unharmed. She pondered upon the thought whether one could get physically harmed in the planes of Oblivion or if the consequences of getting severely injured would be different in there. In any case, she did not intend to find out about that if she could avoid it.  
  
It was already dawn, when she walked along the road leading to the city; that well known road to her looked now different. Being already halfway through the First Seed, it was spring, indeed, even though the weather was cold. Trees did not have leaves on their branches yet, and it was sleeting. The snow had already melted almost completely, so that there were only small snow-covered areas in the places that were left in the shadows during the noon. Apart from the progression of the season, everything looked the same - and yet, everything would be different in her life again from now on.  
  
As she reached the city gates, she noticed Olivier, who was keeping watch there that day. "Oh, hello, Linnea, you're back! Nice to see you again," he greeted her. She smiled at him in a friendly way, and replied: "I'm only shortly visiting here, I have to leave again soon. But it's nice to see you again, too." "Oh...I think Alex would have wanted you to stay this time, he's been missing you. He wasn't happy when you left like that," he replied - and then quickly added: "But never mind, it's not my business…I just...thought that you’d like to know it." "Oh, it's alright," she said; staring at the ground in front of her feet, she asked: "By the way, speaking of him, do you know if he's at home or on duty now? I’ll have to go to Camlorn next, and I'd like to meet him before I leave. I owe him my apologies...I really didn't mean to hurt him, on the opposite..." "Yeah, sure,” he replied, and then answered to her question: "He's got a day off today."  
  
She knew that she would find Aleksei at their home, and since he usually got up rather early, he would most likely wake up soon, even though it was his free day. As she walked to the castle of Daggerfall, she wished she could cast an invisibility spell; by the time she reached the officers' living quarters, she had had to meet many of her and Aleksei's friends and acquaintances from the City Guard, and explain her sudden departure and reappearance to them. She stood at the door of their room for a great while - gathering her courage - then she took a deep breath and entered their room.  
  
Aleksei was just about to wake up; still drifting between his dreams and reality, it felt to him as if Linnea was with him, laying on their bed next to him. He knew, though, that it was not so, and soon he would have to wake up and - once again - realise that her presence had only been a dream. Nevertheless, he still wanted to hold on to that illusion for a while, before he would have to get up and face the reality.  
  
He could still remember clearly how shaken he had been, when he had read the letter she had left him and noticed that she had gone to Aldcroft -  he could not understand why she had run away like that. He had not heard anything about her or the situation in that town ever since, and she had not even sent him a letter. The past few weeks had been tormenting; he had no idea what was happening there, and if she was alright, neither did he know when she would return - if she would return. Fortunately, his work had kept him extremely occupied recently but now it would be his day off, and he wondered how he could survive it, since he would have too much time to worry about her. He was just about to get up - and then he saw _her_ standing at the door.  
  
"Linnea! Am I still sleeping or is it really you?" he asked aloud, when he saw her. The morning sun shined through the window and made her long, red hair and pale skin glow in its light. She walked to him, smiling a bit shyly, and replied: "Yes, it's me, darling." He rushed at her, kissed her and took her into his arms, saying: "You can't believe how happy I am to have you back again, I've missed you so much!" During the last weeks, he had been so sad, anxious – and, also angry with her - but now that she was back, all of those feelings subsided, and he felt only relief and joy of her return. "I've missed you, too. I love you," she said quietly. "Don't ever again disappear like that, promise?" he said. She was silent for a moment, figuring out how to say it, and then blurted out: "I'll have to go to Camlorn soon, I won't stay here. Sorry."  
  
"Please, don't do this again, I'm so sorry I yelled at you in the morning before you left, I shouldn't have..." he cried out. He was upset and confused; he had been so happy that she had come back but then she had said that she would go away again - and Camlorn was even further from Daggerfall than Aldcroft. "No, dear, I am the one who should apologise you. But I have to go. The Duke of Camlorn personally asked me to help him and the Lion Guard troops there to retake the city," she stated, and sat down onto their bed. He sighed and asked: "So is it true that the...werewolves have taken Camlorn?" She nodded, and he cried out: "I don't want you to go, really, I don't like - " but she interrupted him: "I've been in tough situations before, and I know how to deal with the undead creatures, I'm a templar, remember."  
  
She shortly explained what had happened in Aldcroft, and made it very clear that she would not change her mind, despite his attempts to persuade her to stay. However, she stated that she would not leave _immediately_ , thus they should try to make the most of the time they would have together. Her departure would break his heart again but he promised that he would wait for her, and she promised to write him as often as she could. Since it was his free day, they spent the whole day together; she felt as if they had travelled into a little world that belonged only to them, where the time and place had ceased to exist. She felt happy and sad at the same time; his presence felt more wonderful than it had ever before, since she knew that she would have to leave in the next day.  
  
Too soon the day turned to night. He knew that she would leave soon but she had not revealed him that she would already leave the next day, since she could not say goodbyes to him face to face, no matter how much she hated herself for how she was going to say her farewells - again. She lay close to him on their bed. He breathed peacefully, and she knew that he would fall asleep soon; she thought that she would not sleep at all during the night, herself. She loved him more than anything - and that was why she could not stay, as controversary it might appear to be. She hoped that maybe, if she could help the Lion Guard to chase away the darkness that had descended upon Glenumbra, it would somehow bring her closer to getting her lost soul back. She was certain that if she had her soul, everything would be fine again, and she would not have to fear for the safety of her loved ones.  
  
Linnea had fallen into a restless sleep during the early hours; when she woke up, it was noon, and Aleksei had gone to his duty already. She had to force herself to get up - she wished she could stay and lie there forever, and pretend that everything was like it used to be - but she knew that she had to go. Thus, she got dressed and packed her belongings for the journey. Before she left, she wrote a letter to Aleksei, claiming there that she had had to leave earlier than she had expected to, and apologised for her sudden departure. She would go to the Mages Guild, inform Master Telleno about her plans, and ask Valaste to create her a portal to Camlorn. She swallowed back her tears, when she took the one last look at their home, before she closed the door behind her.


	18. Difficult Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea's sudden disappearance has left her loved one in a situation where he has to make a difficult choice between his friends and career and her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to write one chapter from the point of view of a supporting character in the story.

"I'm back, my love!" Aleksei said, when he opened the door of their home - but when he stepped in, he saw that Linnea's belongings were gone, and there was a letter on their bed - again! When the devastating realisation hit him, it felt difficult for him to breathe, as if someone had punched him under the diaphragm. She had gone without even saying goodbye – and without giving him a chance to offer to come with her. As he read her letter, he knew what he would do; he could not stand waiting - the cursed waiting - anymore, thus he started to pack his things for the journey. In the evening, he would meet his friends at the Rosy Lion Inn, as they had planned to go there then, and let them know what he would do next.  
  
"Hey Alex, you came finally. You're never late, so what has happened?" Anton asked, when Aleksei came to sit at his friends' table; he noticed that he was beside himself with concern and sorrow. "Linnea...she came back yesterday...but then she left so suddenly today...I just found the letter she left. She's going to go to Camlorn, to assist the Lion Guard there. You know the rumours about that place, they appear to be true, at least she said so," he explained with a quiet tone. "That wasn’t nicely done of her to run away again and only leave a letter," Olivier stated. "But maybe she had her reasons to do so," William assumed, and suggested: "Let's get something to drink for you, you definitely need it now. The drinks tonight will be on me." "Thanks but I won't have anything. I'm going after her, I just came here to tell it to you. I've decided that I'll go to Camlorn with her, to make sure that nothing happens to her there. My father's leading his troops there, so I'm sure that I could get there as a recruit or something," Aleksei said. "And leave your life - everything you have here? Your work as an officer, your home and us - your friends, too?" Anton asked him appalled. "Just think about it a bit longer, that's not a decision to be made so rapidly," William suggested but he said: "She needs me, I must go after her, there's no other option." "Just think about it, Alex...you know that kinda persons as she is, always getting into trouble and taking risks, you couldn't keep her safe, sooner or later she would eventually -" Anton tried to explain him but William interrupted him, looking murderously at him, and said: "Of course she'll be alright and she'll be back after the job's finished there. We all know that she's an extremely powerful and capable battle mage, no Bloodthorn bastard or daedric creature stands a chance against her!" Aleksei sighed and looked at him, stating: "Yes, she's a very powerful mage...but someone has to protect her from _herself_."  
  
 "Anyways, I'll go now. I'll buy a horse from the stables, I've got savings, so I can do that. I hope I'll see you again some day," Aleksei said. He was about to leave but his friends did not allow him to get up from the chair; they had noticed that he was in shock, thus he could not think clearly. "Let me go, _now_!" he shouted frantically, as they held him still. "Please, Alex, calm down, you're not acting rationally now..." Olivier tried to pacify him but he yelled desperately: "I don't wanna hurt you but if you won't let me go now, I have no other option -" Then they noticed that a guard - who they soon recognised to be Maxine, the newest recruit in their ranks - that was keeping watch in the inn came at their table. "Everything alright here - oh, well - mister Virchow...sir?" she asked surprised, not knowing exactly what to do in such a weird situation. She had heard voices of restlessness coming from that direction and decided to go checking that there was no fight going on - but the situation had suddenly become extremely awkward for her, as she had noticed that her superior was involved in it. "Yes, everything's fine. I was...I was just demonstrating the guys what happened yesterday here and how it could have been avoided," Aleksei made up a story quickly. She smiled relieved, and replied: "Oh, great. Sorry that I bothered you, sir!"  
  
"Really, you must let me go now," Aleksei said upset to his friends, and added: "I'm serious about this..." William quickly figured out what to do, and subtly let his friends know that. He said to Aleksei: "Oh, very well, then. It's your choice after all, if you prefer to choose her over us. But before you leave us, I just have one request. Have a meal and a drink with us before you go. You should eat something before going for such a long journey - and besides, you owe it to us to have one more flagon of mead with us, after all this time we've spent together." He sighed, and said: "Well, alright...but please, be quick about it, I really have to go as soon as possible." "Aye, first I must go out to relieve myself but I'll be back soon and fetch the drink and food...the innkeeper owes me cos I helped him recently, so I'll get them for free," he claimed and left their table.  
  
When he came back, he was carrying a small flagon of mead and a large, already cold apple pie; he gave them to Aleksei, who quickly drank most of the mead, and cried out: "Oh this tastes so horrible, mead should not taste terribly sweet and the aftertaste is simply...odd." William could not help but smile a bit, as he stated: "Hmph, at least I got it for free. I hope the pie's better, though." "I didn't mean it like that, sorry. And the pie's good, it's very, very sweet, too, though, but as it's an apple pie, it's okay..." he said when he had started to eat the meal.   
  
When Aleksei had eaten half of the food, he suddenly started to feel strangely dizzy, and extremely tired - and before he could even notice it himself, he could not stay awake anymore, and he passed out onto the baking and started to snore loudly. "By the Eight, what happened to him? We need to get help for him," Olivier shouted concerned, and tried to get him awake but William calmly stated: "No, it's better to let him be. He'll sleep overnight peacefully, I'm sure that tomorrow he'll be reasonable and can think about things more clearly than he could tonight." "How can you know that? Why aren't you worried about his condition?" Olivier asked him appalled, and he replied silently: "I put skooma into his drink and into the pie."  
  
"Skooma? By Sheogorath's Madness, Will, what's wrong with you!? Are you trying to poison Alex or just to get us all into trouble? That stuff's illegal, where did you even get it?" Anton asked him shocked. "I know that a beggar that begs outside this inn, is a skooma addict and uses it. I know that he only buys and uses it himself, he doesn't sell it to others, so I haven't arrested the poor soul...And that amount of skooma won't kill Alex or anything, it just makes him sleep deeply," William replied. "And how can you possibly know that?" Anton exclaimed. Willian kept staring at the table in front of him, remaining silent for some time, before finally saying: "Well, my life used to be a bit...different before I joined the City Guard..."  
  
"Oh my, are you okay...Sir?" Maxine tried to ask from Aleksei, being extremely astonished. She had passed by their table again, and she could not have failed to notice that the officer of her troops had passed out at the table, resting his head against his meal, and it had happened during such a short period of time; it had felt extremely awkward to her to ask about the matter but she had considered it to be her duty to do so, nevertheless. "Yeah, Alex is fine he just - he just doesn't tolerate alcohol very well," Anton stated to her, and added: "And hey, you don't have to address to him so formally, when he's off duty...Alex doesn't really care about such things," smiling to her in a friendly way, trying to make the situation more comfortable for all of them. She smiled back a bit nervously, and then quickly said: "But please, take him out of here so that people won't see that. I'll get a room for him, take him there...I can pay it if you don't have enough coin with you now..."   
  
They carried him to the room they had rented and put him onto the bed; he did not notice anything that was happening around him, since he was in such a deep sleep. "So, you'll take care of him now, right?" she asked her comrades. "Yes, someone needs to stay with him but at least I'll have my shift soon," William said, and the others remembered that they would have theirs, too, thus Anton asked her: "Hey, could you stay with him? Your duty is gonna end soon for today, right?" "Maybe I could change shifts with some of you, guys, so that one of you could stay with him...if my superior won't mind it, of course." she suggested; officer Virchow had always been so kind and helpful to her, so she wanted to help him now but the idea of staying to take care of her drunken officer felt simply too awkward to her. She wondered why her comrades burst into laughter. "Well, I don't think Alex minds it now, if you change shifts with me," William finally replied to her, making her realise what had been so funny in what she had said, thus she started to laugh, too.  
  
Aleksei woke up, feeling a bit disoriented, and as if the world around him was spinning strangely. It took him a great while to realise that he had not woken up in his own bed - instead he appeared to be in a room of the Rosy Lion Inn, and since the room was full of light, it had to be noon or afternoon already. It felt a bit difficult for him to remember anything of the last night but then he understood that he should be on duty now, thus he was severely late from work. He got up and noticed that he was wearing his civilian clothes; he would have to find his sword, go to change into his uniform quickly and hope for the best. Then he heard his friend saying: "Hey, take it easy, you're still a bit dazed," and noticed that William was sitting on a chair at the corner of the room. "Oh, Stendarr's Mercy, Will, help me to find my sword... and I'm late from work already...oh shit this is bad!" he shouted desperately but his friend tried to calm him down: "Everything'll be alright, don't worry about it," but he did not listen to him. William gave him his sword back, saying: “Here is your blade."  
  
He run all the way to the castle, despite feeling a bit weak. It appeared to be afternoon already, and he felt how the panic sank in; he was certain that he would be fired. He remembered how he last night had been about to leave his post in the City Guard and go to Camlorn with Linnea but now that there really was a chance that he would have to leave, he realised how important his work there was to him. When he got home, he quickly tidied himself a bit up and changed into his uniform. Then he walked to Captain Aresin's office, fearing what consequences there would be for him for his mistake; he could not understand what had happened, and why he had missed a working day like that.  
  
"Good afternoon, Sir. I am so terribly sorry for not coming to duty today, I still cannot understand what happened to me last night and today. I understand if there will be consequences for that," Aleksei said to Captain Aresin, looking extremely serious and frightened - but the Captain smiled at him, and replied informally: "It's been sorted out already, Aleksei, don't worry about it anymore. Your friends explained me what happened, they came to talk to me before their shifts began," and stated: "You don't remember it yourself for sure." "No, I don't," he admitted, and the Captain revealed the truth to him: "Your friends said that you were shocked when Linnea had left for Camlorn, and you were going to go after her right away - to ride all alone to Camlorn in the dark. So, one of them decided to slip skooma into your drink, to get you think about your plan again today, when you'd be calmed down a bit." "Skooma..." Aleksei replied, speaking in half to himself. That would explain his condition, indeed; he did not remember having drunk so much that he would have passed out because of that, in fact, he did not remember having drunk at all. Now he remembered how he had behaved that night, though, and said to the Captain concerned: "They didn't do it on purpose for sure! Oh, I mean, they must have had a good reason to…knock me out quickly. Please don't punish them about the skooma thing, I should be one responsible of all of this." The Captain took a moment, and then replied with a serious tone: "Well, mister Virchow, I think this will be the first time ever that I will reward someone of slipping skooma into an officer's drink!" and then laughed amused, and continued: "I think preventing my trusted officer from doing unconsidered decisions is well worth a couple of free days for each of them."  
  
"Hey, I'm really sorry for what happened to you...that she left," the Captain said to him, when he was about to go, and asked: "So you're going to stay here yourself, did I get it right?" Aleksei thought about his question for a while, and then replied: "Yes...I think so...damn this is so difficult! I don't know if I'm choosing wrong now...if I should go with her, after all..." "What do you think I should do?" he asked him. The Captain looked at him for a while - somehow he had started to feel a bit like a son of his own to him, since he did not have a family himself - and said: "Well, I can't advise you how to live your life but let me tell you my own story." Aleksei nodded, and the Captain continued: "When I was younger, I used to be together with a pretty Redguard lass...I loved her and I had already started to plan my future together with her. I had just gotten a promotion I had been waiting for so eagerly, when she suddenly announced that she wanted to become a sailor, and she wanted me to come with her to the seas. That was a bloody difficult decision for me to make - I was in love with her but I decided to stay and not to go with her. I was heart-broken for a long time, when she left but I haven't regretted this decision, not a bit...and later I found out that she became a captain of a large ship, and a devoted and loyal supporter of Daggerfall Covenant. She sometimes takes her ship to Daggerfall, and then we meet at the Rosy Lion Inn..." "But I think my decision was the best one...after all, we Bretons outlive Redguards, indeed..." he added.  
  
Captain Aresin promised that Aleksei could come to talk to him, whenever he wished to; he also planned to keep him greatly occupied, so that he would not have too much time to worry about Linnea and to give him something else to think about. Before Aleksei left, he thanked the Captain for everything; it was not an easy decision for him to make but he knew he would stay in Daggerfall and wait for Linnea to return to him.


	19. The Rescue Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea travels to Camlorn and delivers the information about Faolchu's great weakness to the leaders of the Lion Guard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on I don't follow the story line of the main quest so strictly. General Virchow (who also has gotten his name from a scientist :D ) is my OC and doesn't exist in ESO.

If travelling through a portal was somewhat unpleasant to Linnea, so was her arrival in her destination; she cursed when she noticed that she had stepped in a puddle, while arriving in her supposed destination. Now her boot was wet - as if she had not felt miserable enough already, since she had left Aleksei behind like that. Soon, though, she figured out that the wet boot was definitely the least of her current problems. As soon as the portal behind her closed, she realised that she had asked Valaste to open it to the city of Camlorn, and that was what she had done, precisely, thus she had ended up inside of the walls of the city that was overrun by Faolchu's army of werewolves.  
  
"Watch out!" she suddenly heard someone shouting to her; she turned around just in time to notice that there were three werewolves running towards her. She managed to eliminate two of them with her spears of sunlight but the third beast had gotten too close to her; she barely had time to draw her sword to defend herself from its attacks. She screamed as she fell - since she had not gotten enough time to become aware of her surroundings, when coming out of the portal, she had failed to notice a small hole in the ground, next to where she had stood. She saw the sharp, large canines of the beast and its hollow eyes as it crouched upon her.  
  
Then she saw that the young Breton man wearing a Lion Guard uniform - the same person, who had warned her about the werewolves - had rushed to her, and at the last minute, he managed to drag the creature's attention away from her, and finished it with his sword. "Phew, that was pretty close. Thank you." Linnea said to him when she was able to speak again from her fright. "No need to thank me, saving beautiful ladies is what I do," he replied flirtingly but then asked concerned: "You didn't get bitten, did you?" "No, I didn't," she answered, and he said seemingly relieved: "Good. The inn is safe, you should go there with the other survivors, to wait until things will be under control here." "Actually, I came to Camlorn to help the Lion Guard to retake the city, and I wonder if I could help you somehow now," she replied, then introduced herself and explained what had happened to her. "Well, that certainly explains why I suddenly noticed you stumbling in the middle of those werewolves as if you had appeared there out of the thin air," he said, and then continued: "I'm Darien Gautier, by the way, a captain in the Lion Guard. Now that you're here, hero, you could help me to check if there are still civilians to be rescued in this city. But let's be careful, don't let those creatures to bite you in any circumstances, because I don't want to have to eliminate you, as harsh as it sounds. You know, everyone who gets bitten, turns into a werewolf, and there's no cure for that disease, at least not yet."  
  
They had gone through the whole city but they had found only a couple of survivors that they had escorted into the inn; mostly they had only seen corpses laying on the streets and the undead beasts feasting upon them. They managed to get out of the city unharmed, and Darien led them to the Lion Guard's camp. She told him that she had essential information about Faolchu, that she was supposed to give to the leaders of the Lion Guard, thus he took her to his father's, General Gautier's, tent.  
  
"Oh thank the Divines you're alive, son, I was almost certain already that you wouldn't be anymore," General Gautier said to Darien, as he saw him and Linnea, and then continued: "I hope you still have the key of the city gates with you." "Yes I do, father," he replied and gave the key to him. "Excellent, this will give us the crucial opportunity to attack to the city from two directions simultaneously...but we would still have to succeed in slaying Faolchu himself, too, to save the city...a task that is honestly speaking near impossible for us at the moment," he thought aloud.   
  
"In fact, I know something about Faolchu that might help you," Linnea said, and then understood to present herself: "Duke Sebastian sent me. Or actually we were supposed to travel here together but then I had to take care of some things before coming here." "She’s the hero of Daggerfall! The one who saved the King when the Bloodthorns tried to kill him and take the city!" Darien told his father excited, and asked her enthusiastically: “Is it true that you single-handedly killed a dozen of Bloodthorn thugs and their three armoured trolls during the same combat?” “Hah, I think it didn’t quite go like that,” she corrected him, being amused of the exaggerating rumours that had obviously started to spread about the battle, and asked General Gautier: "Do you know if the Duke himself has arrived already, sir?" "Not yet," he replied, and asked: "But what do you know about Faolchu?" "His greatest weakness is fire, he is supposed to be rather susceptible to it, so maybe we could use that as our advantage," she revealed. "His weakness is fire? That is excellent...but how do you know that?" the General wondered. "Well, I kind of...I happen to know a lot about the Battle of Glenumbra Moors, where he was slain for the first time," she said, hoping that they would not ask her any more questions about it, since she reconed that they would think her to be crazy if she told them how she had gained her knowledge about that battle. "Very well, then, let's assume that you're right about that. After all, that's our best hope at the moment, indeed," he replied, and promised:  "I will inform the other leaders about this...and when the Duke arrives, we will start planning how to retake the city and get rid of Faolchu for good."  
  
Since Linnea would be staying with the Lion Guard and take part in the meeting concerning retaking Camlorn and eliminating Faolchu, General Gautier had instructed her to get herself a bedroll and a tent; he had also adviced her where she could find fresh water and other essential supplies. She wandered around the Lion Guard's base, carrying her tent; she could decide herself where to set it up. She anticipated that the best locations would doubtlessly be taken already but she wished she could at least find a place where the ground would not get extremely wet due to the rains and the water from the remnants of the melting snow. Darien had flirtingly offered that he could share his tent - which he claimed to be at the best place in the whole camp – with her but she had laughingly rejected that offer.  
  
When Linnea had established her tiny camp, she tried to take a nap but since all she could think of was Aleksei and how she had left him again, she could not rest at all. Thus, she decided to explore the Lion Guard base in a greater detail. The weather was chilly and cloudy but at least it did not rain or sleet - yet. It was a late afternoon, and things were calm in their encampment. There were werewolves roaming outside the wooden walls but they mostly did not show any interest towards their settlement; only occasionally, some of the creatures tried to attack but the archers chased them away with ease. Linnea assumed that Duke Sebastian would not arrive during that day anymore, thus most likely nothing would happen yet. She chatted with some Lion Guard soldiers; most of them appreciated the current tranquility greatly but she could sense that the atmosphere in the base was thick with anticipation of the obviously coming battles against the undead creatures.   
  
"I hate waiting, the _goddamned waiting_ ," one of the soldiers stated; Linnea smiled at him in a friendly way, and assured: "I think the Duke will come soon and then he and the generals will start planning the retaking of the city." "I wonder how we're gonna do that with these troops we have. I mean, I doubt we have enough men, and besides, that freaking monster is said to be impossible to slay," he replied; she could notice that suddenly waiting did not appear to be such a bad thing in his opinions anymore. She smirked, and suggested: "Well, let's enjoy this peace and _waiting_ while it lasts, then." Then she declared, trying to encourage them all: "And I _know_ that Faolchu isn't impossible to slay. They did it once, before our time, and we will do it again soon! The future generations will respect everyone who has fought here and remember us all as heroes!" She did not care so much about such thoughts herself but she knew that what she said would certainly inspire her comrades to fight bravely and lessen their fear. "Aye, you're right about that, lass," he replied, and asked: "We have some mead left, let's drink it while we still have the chance. Wanna join us?" "I'd love to," she replied, and took the bottle he gave her. "For us and for our future glory," he said while raising his bottle; "And for the _goddamned waiting_!" she said, making them all laugh. "For the goddamned waiting!" they all repeated amused what she had said and raised their drinks.  
  
Suddenly their laid-back afternoon ended as they noticed that an injured Lion Guard scout returned to the base; she was in shock. Linnea and the others ran to her, and she asked: "How did you get injured? What happened?" while examining her wounds. "We - we were scouting near Gaudet farm...it's been captured by the Bloodthorns, we had received unnerving reports from there so we tried to find out what the Bloodthorns are doing in there – “ she replied and then drank the healing potion Linnea gave to her. She turned pale, when continuing: "We...were caught off guard - the Bloodthorns, they ambushed us...I - I escaped and hid but...my comrade died when he tried to fight against those bastards, and they took General Virchow as their captive, I saw that they dragged him towards Merovec's Folly - the ruins of that old fortification Northwest of Camlorn!"  
  
"Wait, what did you say? The Bloodthorn scum took my husband as their prisoner?" a female soldier asked terrified - Linnea noticed that she was wearing the blacksmith's apron. "Oh shit," Linnea cursed aloud. _"This can not be happening -"_ she thought; _"- not to Aleksei, he already has enough problems to deal with, thanks to me!"_ "Alright, I'll go after them right now, and I will do my best to get him back unharmed," she promised to her without properly considering what she would do, which was so typical to her. The soldiers looked at her appalled, and one of them stated: "Hey wait, we can't just go there like that, we should first -" but she asked: "Mark those locations in my map," giving it to the scout. "Aye...but really, you should -" "Thanks," she said, taking it back, and then rushed out of the camp, towards the ruins of the old fort; she managed to evade the werewolves that were roaming outside the encampment.  
  
On her way, she started to realise the point the soldiers and the scout had - she could not simply run into the old fortress occupied by the Bloodthorns and kill them all alone, besides, she did not even know where exactly they had taken the General. However, she did not intend to give up, thus she started to figure out a plan for her rescue mission; certainly, she could come up with something that could work out well enough.  She reached the farm first and stayed to observe it from a distance; as the scout has told, it was occupied by the bandits.  
  
As she stood there, she got a brilliant idea: she remembered a tactic she had learnt from Crafty Lerisa. They had used it in Stros M'kai, when dealing with the dictator of that island, and she could use a similar one now. She waited somewhat impatiently, hiding behind the large rocks near the farm - and then finally she noticed a Bloodthorn woman walking away from the village, most likely to relieve herself. She prepared to cast a large sunlight spear; she aimed carefully, and when her target stopped walking, she threw it towards her. She fell lifeless on the ground instantly, just as Linnea had hoped her to - what mattered to her was that her outfit remained in a good condition. She looked around to make sure that no one had seen her death. Then she dragged her corpse behind the rocks, took off her own robes and hid them, and then dressed the bandit's outif on herself.  
  
Unlike her own gear, the Bloodthorn outfit was not enchanted, thus it did not strenghten her own magicka; without the other enchantments, Linnea could sense especially well the one in the necklace Aleksei had given her. As she walked towards Merovec's Folly, she thought about him. She wondered what he would be doing right now - in any case, he would be perfectly unaware of what had just happened to his father. As she arrived in her destination, she paused for a moment; she took a short while to figure out how a Bloodthorn bandit woman would speak and behave, and how to acquire necessary information that would help her to rescue the General. _"Let's begin the show,"_ she thought as she walked through the gates of the fortification that the bandits had renovated with wooden walls and other simple structures.  
  
The bandits had settled in the fortress; most of the towers were shattered and in ruins, thus they had set tents outdoors, inside the old walls that they had fortified with the wooden constructions. She wondered whether this was one of the biggest bases the Bloodthorns had or if those bandits had even larger encampments in other regions of Glenumbra that she had not seen or heard of. They did not appear to pay any attention to her, thus she expected that she looked enough like a Bloodthorn; besides many of them seemed to be quite drunk, even though it was still early evening. Being among her enemy, she felt somewhat nervous - but on the other hand, in some way, she kind of enjoyed the excitement, and she wanted to test how well she could act and fake to be a part of the bandit clan.  
  
She had paid attention to the two men, who were standing in front of a tent, drinking large flagons of mead; they appeared to be rather drunk, thus she anticipated them to be the easiest target. She walked to them and asked: "Hey, what's up guys?" "Fine...now that we got more mead," one of them replied, and then asked her: "But I've not seen ya around here. Who are ya?" "I - I've not been here for a long time yet. I'm from the south...I...kinda didn't get along with some bastards there, so I came here," she replied, trying to act as laid back as she could. "From south, aye...you look a bit familiar...as if I'd seen you somewhere before..." the other man said and stared at her face, trying to remember her. Fearing that he might recognise her to be related to the events in Daggerfall or Betnikh, she quickly stated: "You don't remember me? After the night we spent together? I should be offended that you don't remember me! Oh, but it's no wonder though...cos you were so drunk, of course!" He looked confused but also happy, when he replied: "By Malacath's hairy knuckles we did? Oh, right... that's great! I didn't remember I've been with a lass in that way for at least five years!" She thought that she could use as her advantage what he had told, and persuadely asked him: "I'd fancy to do that again with you...but first I've gotta interrogate our prisoner, the general guy. Boss wants me to do that cos I can make anyone speak. Where is he now?" "Aye, can't wait for that! They took the bastard to the north tower, I guess. The key's hanging above the door, there...be quick, I'll be waiting." "Thanks, handsome," she replied to the unkempt Orc, intending to see him never again.  
  
She entered the northern tower and closed the door behind her; the building was partially collapsed, so that the rubble blocked the stairs leading to the upper sections of it. She saw that the General was tied up and laying on the base floor, under the stairs. There was a small Lion Guard symbol in the chest piece of his armour, thus she instantly recognised him to be the person she was looking for - and besides, he reminded her so greatly of Aleksei that there would be no doubt of the fact that he was his father. In Linnea's opinions, they looked so alike that they could have been mistaken as brothers, thus she deduced that Aleksei's parents were rather young (in Bretons' timeline) when they had gotten their firstborn.   
  
The General had noticed her presence, and stated her with a contemptuous tone: "I won't tell anything to you or agree to anything, no matter what you say or do. I'm not afraid of you, Bloodthorn bitch!" but she could see the fear in his eyes. Also, he appeared to be in pain; probably he had been injured while fighting against the Bloodthorns. It took Linnea a while to realise that because of the Bloodthorn outfit she was wearing, he mistook her to be one of the bandits. "It's alright. I'm not a Bloodthorn, I'm here to help you, I'll get you out of here," she explained to him but he replied suspiciously: "Yeah, of course you are. I know this is a trap...but I won't fall in that." "Really, I'm your friend, not an enemy, I just wear this disguise to fool those bandits," she tried to convince him. "And why should I trust you?" he asked her cynically. She bent over him and asked him retorically while cutting his bindings off with her dagger: "Well, do you have any other options?" "I do now, thank you -" he stated when he was free from the bonds.  
  
Before she could have responded to the situation in any way, he had pushed her against the wall and held her still; her dagger had fallen onto the floor from her grasp. He drew her sword from her flank, grimacing in agony, while doing so; apparently, something was broken in his upper limb. He held her weapon against her neck, and continued, smiling wickedly: " - I'm going to kill you, bitch, and really escape from this damned place. You didn't expect this to happen, did you?"  
  
"Nope, I didn't," Linnea replied, and could not help but laugh aloud at the situation she was in. For some reason, she found it extremely hilarious that there was a chance that she could get killed by the person she was trying to save – and after all of her enemies' serious attempts to eliminate her that she had easily survived so far. She felt the cold blade against her neck but it all felt too surreal to her, thus she did not feel any fear.  
  
General Virchow was startled by his fiend's unexpected reaction to his actions but he did not let it show - maybe she had planned all this, even her own death by his hand, and it would have malign consequences. After all, the Bloodthorns were dealing with dark magic and rituals, some of which required even human sacrifices; these bandits were known by their sometimes incomprehensibly savage ways to act to achieve their goal. "And what's so funny in that?" he asked her annoyed.  
  
Linnea felt that he did not press the sword against her neck so firmly anymore. She had planned to use her spells to painfully burn him with them to get him back out from her but now she assumed that she could be able to calm the situation down by discussing further with him, thus she replied: "I just think if I died here now, after everything I've been involved in, and survived it so far...the Bloodthorn invasion in the Castle of Daggerfall, the Dark Anchors and the events in Aldcroft...if my worst enemies didn't manage kill me but the person I'm trying to save, would do it...and with my very own sword! There is something ironical in it, indeed, isn't there?"   
  
The General stood still for a moment. He kept staring at her sword and turned pale - then he dropped it on the ground, and backed out from her. The carving on the weapon had caught his attention, and as he had read the text _'This weapon is granted to Linnea, the hero of Daggerfall, by King Casimir'_ , he had realised - combined with what she had stated to him - who the red-haired lass in front of him most likely was, and that she was definitely on his side. "Oh Gods...I'm - I'm so sorry...by the Divines, you're the hero of Daggerfall...and you're here to help me, right?" "That's right," she replied and smiled, being amused by the absurdity of the situation. "And I - I almost killed you..." he said in shock but she laughed and said confidently: "Oh no, I don’t think you would have succeeded in that. You didn't take into account that I still had my spells, even if I was disarmed from my blades." She gathered her weapons from the ground, and then said to him: "But I noticed that you're hurt. Let me take a look at that arm. And do you have any other injuries?"  
  
"It seems that the clavicle bone and and the radial bone are broken," she told him; then she cast a spell that would alleviate the pain to some extend and tried to pull the wrist into a better position but did not succeed in that. "Do you have experienced healers in the Lion Guard's camp?" she asked. He nodded; he was still breathing rapidly and was pale and sweating. When he could speak again, he said: "Are you sure you're not a Bloodthorn inquisitor? Because I think that not even their torture could have been a worse experience than this," and then laughed a bit. "Oh, sorry about that, I wish I knew a better painkiller spell. Anyway, I can't initiate the healing of those injuries now. They'll have to be operated, I think your healers can do that," she said and wondered aloud: "But how in Oblivion did a Lion Guard general get captured by those bandits?" He stood up, and explained: "We had received concerning reports of the Bloodthorn activity in these regions and went to investigate it. We don't have experienced scouts in our ranks right now, so I went to the mission with the ones we are training - I used to be a scout myself, and pretty good at that work, even if I say it myself. Unfortunately, we were spotted by the bandits; they killed the lad instantly but I think the lass managed to escape, and well, what happened to me, you already know. Before the Bloodthorns caught us, we found out something horrible. The Bloodthorn bastards are going to turn the citisens of Eagle's Brook into zombies, using a dark crystal, apparently located in the southern tower here. They must be stopped!" "Aye. But we have to get out of here before someone comes here and finds us," she replied.  
  
Linnea realised that she had not planned how to get the General out of the bandits' camp; it was so well guarded that he could not sneak out of there unnoticed, and she had not acquired him a Bloodthorn outfit or anything like that. Then she quickly came up with a plan. "For a bandit camp, this place seems to be damn well guarded, we can't just sneak out of here," she said and he replied: "Then we'll have to try to fight our way out. But first we have to destroy the crystal." "You're injured, you can't fight! I'll cause a distraction so that you can escape without being noticed, and then I'll deal with the crystal," she stated but he objected: "No, I'm not leaving you behind, and I can still hold a sword with my left hand." She asked him annoyed: "Isn't it irresponsible to take that kinds of risks? For heaven's sake, you're a general, an important leader -" "And I lead my troops with my example. I won’t run out of here like a coward and leave you here alone," he replied. She started to get irritated, and blurted out: "Damn it, you're as stubborn as Aleksei is!" Now she knew where he had inherited that trait of his personality from. "How do you know my son?" he wondered astonished.  
  
"I am - was - his girlfriend...still maybe am, or I…I don't know anymore," she tried to explain, feeling more uncomfortable than when he had threatened to kill her with her blade. "Is he alright? Has something happened to him?" he asked her very concerned, and continued: "I - I should have kept contact to him more frequently." "No, no, nothing has happened to him," she quickly answered - and then realised how to persuade him to escape - "But he won't be alright if something happens to you now. So please, for his sake, do as I say and leave this damned camp now! I know how to deal with those bandit idiots."  
  
Linnea went out first; when she saw that the way was clear, she gestured General Virchow to come out of the tower, too. Then they sneaked closer to the gate. "Go to the healers, when you reach the camp. Don't worry, they'll get you knocked out first so you won't feel anything...I assume that they have potions for that," she said.  He nodded and said: "I pray the Divines that you succeed and return to the base in one piece." She smiled at him, and replied: "We'll meet again there soon!" "Leave this place as soon as the route is clear from the bandits," she adviced him - she had just come up with an excellent idea.  
  
She walked casually to the large tents in the middle of the camp; they were full of food, beverages and other essential supplies. With her spells, it was easy for her to subtly set them on fire - soon they were burning brightly and producing lots of smoke. It took some time from the drunken bandits to notice it; she could not resist the temptation to mock them, and shouted: "Hey troll brains! The tents are on fire! Why don't you do nothing?" When the Bloodthorns realised what she had said, they reacted surprisingly quickly; they all came to put off the fires – first and foremost, because the mead barrels were stored in there - thus the gate was left unguarded. Linnea noticed that the General managed to escape and leave the encampment without being seen. She walked to the southern tower and sneaked into it - the key she had, fitted to the lock of its door, too.  
  
The southern tower was in a better shape than the one where the General had been held as a prisoner; its stairs had not collapsed and it still had all its floors. As Linnea reached the top level, she saw an Altmer wizard and the large, glowing crystal he was examining. As he noticed her coming, he said to her annoyed: "Didn't I say that I must not be disturbed now. Well, what is it that you want, can't you see that I'm busy?" She smiled coldy at him, and replied: "This is not going to take too long." Then she blighted him with a bright ball of sunlight, and pushed him down from the tower; the fall was long enough to grant him an instant death. She turned her attention to the strange crystal that had to be the one that General Virchow had told her about - she could sense that it was full of powerful, dark magic but it looked fragile enough to be broken mechanically. Thus, she took it from its pedestal, assuming that it would be safe to touch it, since the Altmer wizard had touched it, too - and threw it down from the tower. As the crystal landed next to the corpse of the wizard, it shattered into countless little pieces. She had succeeded in saving the General from the bandits and destroying the source of evil magic that was threatening Eagle's Brook; now she would only have to get back to the Lion Guard's camp, and her mission would be completed. It was evening, thus she thought that she could easily leave the camp unnoticed in the twilight.  
  
Apparently, despite the havoc she had caused in the camp, someone had noticed what had happened to the wizard and the crystal; when she came out of the tower, a bandit shouted at her: "Hey, what in Oblivion were you doing there? You gonna pay for this, bitch!" and approached her. As he came closer, she saw the armour he was wearing and recognised him to be a higher-ranked member of the Bloodthorns. "Hey, you're not one of us!" he noticed, when his torch lighted her and he saw her face. He shouted to the other bandits: "An intruder is sabotasing the ritual! Kill this bitch!"  
  
She started to run for her life, trying to figure out how to escape; she would not have a chance in a fight against all of the bandits. She knew that the bandit camp was protected with walls, and she could not escape through the gate where she had come from, so she ran to the opposite direction hoping for the best. Soon, though, she noticed that it was a dead end; she was cornered by the bandits, and there was a cliff in front of her. She backed out to the very edge; there was a coast beneath her. She did not know whether the water would be deep enough but the chilly, restless sea was her one and only hope. She started to channel combat healing onto herself, hoping it to reduce the possible damage she would take from the fall - and jumped down, holding her breath as the waves swallowed her.


	20. The Bloodthorn Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea survives the long fall from the cliff but later that night her bandit disguise gets her into troubles with her allies again.

The sea was freezing but fortunately the water was deep enough, thus Linnea had survived the long fall from the cliff. She had held her breath for a rather long time; she felt the burning sensation in her chest and she had to fight hard to resist the urge to inhale, since she was still submerged. She did not know how long the distance back to the surface would be - in fact, due to the darkness and other things, she was not sure in which direction the surface was but she would have to reach it soon, if she wished to survive. In the wrong way, at the seafloor, she could imagine the cruel landscapes of Coldharbour waiting for her, and the thought of that chilled her more than the cold water did.  
  
The lack of air started to fade her consciousness - and then, in the darkness, she saw a faint star that twinkled in the night sky. She knew that she should swim towards it, since it would show her the way up; as she kept on swimming to its direction, it grew larger and its light became brighter. She was sure that the surface was close; the light from the strange star filled her consciousness as she gathered her remaining strength and willpower and made the last push. Just as she was about to lose her consciousness, she finally reached the surface, and gasped for air.  
  
The waves carried her to the shore; as she lay on the coast, gathering her strength and catching her breath, she tried to look for the strange star she had seen but the sky was covered with a thick veil of clouds, and had probably been the whole time. She started to shiver from cold; she would have to dry her gear and get herself warm at once. Thus, she got up and found a small coven under the rock. She gathered some driftwood, set a campfire there and dried her equipment. She doubted that the Bloodthorns would bother to come after her; they probably would not be brave - or rather, foolhardy - enough to follow her down, and the safe way around would be too long to go searching for a random enemy in the middle of the night. Most likely, they would not assume her to even have survived the fall.  
  
She wanted to return to the Lion Guard base as soon as possible. When she had gotten her gear dry and herself warm again, she took a look at her map - which had remained in a good condition, despite having gotten wet - and tried to figure out the shortest and safest way there.  
  
The journey back to the base had been peaceful; she passed by Eagle's Brook and was walking along the road leading to Camlorn. The village was silent, since people living there - who most likely were perfectly unaware of the Bloodthorns' dreadful plans to turn them into zombies, which she had just prevented from happening - were apparently sleeping in their homes. As she saw the sign of the inn, her hunger reminded her that she had not eaten anything for a long time. She considered to step into the inn and order something to eat but, on the other hand, she anticipated that it would not take a long time for her to walk back to the Lion Guard camp, where she could get food and rest.  
  
She remembered the werewolves near Camlorn and the Lion Guard base; she would have to pay attention to her surroundings and try not to let her thoughts wander, like they usually did when she was walking alone. The hunger, however, did not help her to stay focused - she noticed that three soldiers had surrounded her. She remembered what she was wearing and understood the significance of having appropriate armour and insignia in conflict areas, as one of them shouted to her loudly: "Hah, got you, Bloodthorn bitch!" "Are we going to kill her right away or were the orders to interrogate them first?" the other soldier asked from his comrades, sounding a bit nervous. The third soldier shrugged, looking somewhat confused, as if he had not expected that they really would manage to ambush and capture an enemy. Then he suggested: "Or would it be best to take her to the base as our captive?"  
  
"Hey, wait, I'm not a Bloodthorn, we're on the same side, and this outfit is just a disguise. I used this to get into the bandit camp to rescue General Virchow. I came to the Lion Guard base near Camlorn yesterday, Duke Sebastian sent me here to assist with retaking the city and slaying Faolchu...you're from the Lion Guard, right?" she said to them, having seen the small symbols in their armours; she could not decide whether she was annoyed or amused that the cursed Bloodthorn outfit had gotten her into a trouble with her allies again. "Aye," one of them answered her. They all looked even more confused now, and other soldier cried out: "That's exactly what a Bloodthorn would say!" "Hey, wait, watch out!" she suddenly shouted - there were two werewolves running towards them from the woods, probably attracted by the noise the soldiers had caused.   
  
She rushed forward to fight against them with her spells and one of the soldiers joined the fight with his bow; together they executed the beasts quickly. "Saw that? I could easily have killed you all with my spells in the first place but I didn't do so. Do you now believe that we're on the same side?" she asked but the soldiers were still suspicious about her loyalty to the Lion Guard. She sighed and stated: "Fine, then. I - I surrender. Take me to your base, and I promise to tell everything I know to your leaders," and handed her blades to them. They hesitated for a moment but then did as she said, thus they started to walk to the camp. On their way, she asked: "Are you new Lion Guard scouts, by the way?" "Aye, how did you know that?" one of them wondered. "From your subtle and discreet way to act," she answered and smirked to herself.  
  
When they reached the camp, one of the soldiers went to get someone higher-ranked to examine their new prisoner and assess the situation, while the other soldiers remained outside, guarding her. _"Well, this is going to be interesting,"_ she thought as they waited; soon she saw that he returned with Darien Gautier, explaining: "Here is the Bloodthorn witch, Sir! She helped us to kill the werewolves that attacked on us from the woods, so we thought that she would co-operate further and brought her here. We took her blades, here," and gave her weapons to him. "Good work, soldiers...but next time you catch an enemy, make sure to bind their hands well, especially if they are mages. You know, she could have killed you with her spells any time she wanted to, for instance." "A-aye. Yes, sir!" he replied, feeling uncomfortable having realised the potential danger afterwards.  
  
Then Darien Gautier took a look at her and said: "Oh my, people always say that you Bloodthorns are brutal and savage but I have to say that it was very politely done of you not to kill my men, which probably would not have been very challenging for you, to be honest...and even helping them out with the undead creatures...since you have behaved like a lady, I promise to behave like a gentleman. Continue helping us further and we'll get along very, very nicely, I'm sure of it..." "Hey, Darien, it's me, Linnea, don't you recognise me? I'm just disguised as a bandit!" she interrupted him and cast her mage light so that he could better see her face in the dim lighting. "Oh, wow...I thought there was something familiar in you, indeed...so you made it back here safe and sound, that's extremely relieving to know,” he said. "Has General Virchow returned yet?" she asked. "Yes, the healers have been taking care of him. He said that when you return, he wants to find out about it instantly." "I'll go to meet him as soon as possible, then," she promised. "Good. I hope though, that the bandit outfit won't become the latest fashion among the female soldiers here...and how in Oblivion did you get seaweed into your hair?" he said to her jokingly, and smiled. "Oh, right, that damned disguise...I'd like to change into something else!" "I think you can grab some armour or robes from the supplies if you want to - on the other hand, that outfit actually suits you. I kind of like your _wild and savage_ looks. And the seaweed, it matches perfectly to your pretty, emerald-green eyes!" he said, smiling and winking at her, and gave her weapons back to her.

"I've returned...sir," Linnea said as she entered General Virchow's tent; the healers had told her that he was already awake again and that they had succeeded in fixing the broken bones into a good position and initiating their healing. "Oh, it's you! Thank the Eight you're alive...what about the crystal, did you manage to destroy it?" he asked. "Yes, sir, I did," she replied and asked: "How are you feeling, sir? The healers said that they got the bones into a good position." "Aye, they told me that they should heal completely but it'll take some time...I'm fine now, thanks for asking...feeling a bit...dizzy but otherwise fine," he replied, and added: "Thank you for saving me from those bandits. If it wasn't for your help..." "No problem, sir! The dizziness will subside within a couple of hours, I think. It comes from the potions the healers used to knock you out," she replied. "Aye...and you don't have to address to me so formally, when we aren’t on duty," he said and suggested: "Come on in and sit down, if you want to. I bet you could use a drink now, and you probably haven't eaten anything for a while. There's wine and some food on the table, help yourself, I think I'm feeling a bit too light-headed to get up yet." "Thank you, sir - I mean, thanks," she replied and joined his company.  
  
"So you're the one that my son wrote about in his latest letter...he said that he's found a lass and gotten promoted to an officer - damn, I'm so proud of him and happy for him," he said and but then remembered what she had told him: "...but wait, did you say that you're not together anymore or what?" "No, I- I don't know what's happening, or -" she tried to explain; having noticed her embarrassment and uncomfortableness, he quickly said: "Oh, sorry, never mind, it's not my business what happens between you two...I just wanted to ask, you know, the letters aren't a very fast way to communicate, some things change so fast and so on." She quickly drank her goblet empty from wine and poured herself another one. For some reason she felt like opening up and started to explain: "No, it's okay. I just actually don't know, it's so complicated. I - I love him, I really do but I can't stay in Daggerfall, I had to get out of that city. So, I left and went first to Aldcroft and then came here to help Duke Sebastian." "Something happened there?" he wondered, and she continued: "I mean, after we saved the king, I kind of became a bit too well known in the city, and most likely greatly hated by the Bloodthorns. It would be ridiculously easy for them to find me there and get their revenge." He smiled at her in a friendly way and stated: "It rather seems that you're the one who finds her way to her enemy - in the middle of the Bloodthorn encampment at least - and not the other way around." She laughed a bit and then got serious again when replying: "Yes, but if I stayed, my loved ones would be in a severe danger if the bandits decided to try to hurt me or them," and then cried out anxiously: "no one I care about is safe around me, I had to leave, I had no other option!" He remained silent and then replied her, wanting to comfort her: "Based on his letter, Aleksei doesn't appear to be very concerned about that possibility. And I don't think either that you would have to worry about it." "Thanks...I just wish things were that easy." she replied, and thought to herself: _"And they were, if only I had my soul..."  
  
_ They discussed for a great while. He was interested to hear how things were in Daggerfall and how his son had been doing, thus she told him about what had happened in the city during the time she had spent there: about the Bloodthorns' attempt to assassinate the King and what had happened after that, the havoc in Deleyn's Mill - and also about the quite normal life they had lived, apart from those events. "It's nice to hear that my son is doing well...well, apart from that you...ehm, but in any case, I'm so very proud of him...I'll have to make sure that he knows that, really...Back then, I would have wanted him to join the Covenant army and then to start to serve in the Lion Guard, like General Gautier's son did but he didn't follow my advice and he joined the Daggerfall City Guard instead. I wasn't very happy about it first but I have started to understand how wise decision he made, maybe much smarter than I did when I chose this career..." he said. "How so?" she asked. She was not sure if she should listen to his story further but he looked like he really wished to share it with her. She knew that after people had been knocked out before operations and they had woken up again, they tended to reveal things they might not say otherwise - she still remembered how awkwardly she had declared to Aleksei that she loved him, when she had woken up after being saved by the healers in the castle of Daggerfall. Skooma was a main ingredient for those _knock-out potions._ Even though its use was commonly forbidden, healers and alchemists used it for such purposes, and she had never heard anybody having gotten into troubles with authorities because of that.  
  
"Well, he doesn't have to travel around High Rock and the Covenant, so when he starts a family of his own, he won't have to leave and be far away from home for long periods of time. I wasn't around very much when my children were little, and now they all have already grown up. I sometimes wish I could travel back in time and do some things differently...to have spent more time with them back then. Even though they seem to have been doing well enough without my presence, and I'm proud of every single one of them...my son, who is an officer of the Daggerfall City Guard now, my younger daughter, who studies the arcane arts in the Mages Guild of Wayrest at the moment - and even of my older daughter, who for some reason incomprehensive to me, decided to become a Wyrd!" She smiled to him warmly and he continued: "And, your parents should be very, very proud of you - even though, if I was your father, I'd let you properly know how reckless and stupid it was to sneak into that bandit camp like that!" "But it worked out quite well for both of us, eventually," she pointed out. "Yes, it did," he admitted, and then asked: "By the way, is that...seaweed that is hanging from your hair?"  
  
"Oh, it's still there? And I still have this bloody Bloodthorn outfit on me...could I have some mage robes or something, so that I could get rid of it?" she asked him. "Yes, of course. There are armour pieces and robes in the tent right next to this one, you can take anything you want from there," he promised and added: "But I think that you should have the dark-blue robes. They probably have stronger enchantments and should be better armoured than the light-blue ones. Higher-ranked wizards wear them, and I am pretty sure that when it's time to retake Camlorn, you'll do something else than just be a normal battlemage or a healer in the fight." "Thanks! I'd have hated the idea of going out to search for my own armour that I left near the farm, when I changed into this outfit!" "It's the least I can do for my saviour. And remember, if you ever need help with something, don't hesitate to ask...I owe you my life!" he replied.  
  
As she came out of the General's tent, she greeted the female soldier - his wife and Aleksei's mother - who went in there. Linnea entered the storage tent and started to examine what kind of equipment there was. She was extremely delighted to get to choose herself totally new gear; the lightly-armoured, dark-blue robes appeared to be the best option for her indeed. As she was dressing her new gear on, she noticed that she could not avoid overhearing General Virchow's and his wife's conversation - even though she did her best trying not to - since the tents were so close to each other.  
  
"There is something that I should tell you," his wife said to him, sounding nervous, and he asked concerned: "What is it, has something happened here while I was gone?" She had a rather long pause before continuing: "I don't know how this is even possible, despite everything I've tried to do to avoid it - I'm pregnant." "You - you mean that we're getting our fourth child? But that's...wonderful!" he replied, sounding confused but extremely happy. "You think so?" she wondered astonished. "Of course I do, dear - don't you?" he asked. "I...guess I do, then," she replied, not sounding as delighted as her husband was. She had planned to try to terminate the pregnancy but when she had found out that the Bloodthorns had captured her husband, she had sworn to Mara, Arkay and to all the rest of the Eight Divines that if he came back to her alive, she would keep the child. "Anyway, I have to go, dear, there are still some things that I have to finish today," she said and left quickly.  
  
Linnea remembered that she had left her map on the table, thus she had to go back to the General's tent to fetch it - feeling rather uneasy, having accidentally found out about his and his wife's personal matters. However, as she stepped in, he said to her happily: "Maybe you heard our conversation - isn't life so wonderful? Today I was almost certain that those bandits would kill me - but it seems instead that the Divines have given me a gift, a second chance - We'll get our fourth child." "That's great, congratulations," she replied warmly and took her map. "Thank you. This time I'm going to do things differently, to be present in my youngest child's life, when this all is over - if we win the battle against Faolchu and slay Angof," he stated.   
  
"Angof..." she repeated the name speaking in half to herself; she had been focusing so hard on how to eliminate Faolchu that she had almost temporarily forgotten him. "Aye, Angof the Gravesinger," he said, and explained to her: "He's the leader of Bloodthorns and an extremely powerful necromancer. As dreadful as Faolchu appears to be, he's just Angof's puppet, revived by him, as you might know." "Right. Talking about Angof, do you know anything else about him?" she asked curiously. "Well, not so much," he answered; he took her map and showed her the location of Cath Bedraud. "We know that Angof is here, this place is an ancient cemetery where deceased Kings and other Breton nobilities have been buried. This concerns me greatly, since it's not difficult to guess why a necromancer like him is interested in that place. But still, the orders are to retake Camlorn and slay Faolchu first," he explained to her and added: "However, we have split the troops so that a small group of soldiers has gone to the north after him." "Well, I anticipate that the Duke will arrive soon, probably tomorrow - or should I rather say today - and then we will take Camlorn back and kill that monster for good," she replied. He could not help but smile a bit, since she appeared to be so certain about the victory as she spoke, and replied to her: "I really hope we will."   
  
She yawned and said: "Oh, I think I really should go to bed finally and try to get some rest before the Duke comes here." "Right, of course - you surely need it. Good night, then, and again, thank you for saving my life," he replied. "Oh, no problem at all, and good night for you, too, and I hope you recover quickly," she said, and added: "By the way, I left the disguise to the armoury tent, in case that someone needs it." "I don't think that anyone is going to use your tactic again any time soon - I doubt that even Darien Gautier would be foolhardy enough for that," he said and added: "But don't tell him that I said so or he might take it as a challenge and do something even more stupid to try to best you," and laughed a bit.  
  
As she walked back to her tent, it was almost morning already. The clouds had subsided during the dark hours, and she saw the stars that were disappearing into the dawn in the brightening sky. She started to properly feel her massive exhaustion; incredible amount of things had happened during a small period of time, and she expected that she would not be idle during the coming days, either. She took her boots off and crawled into her warm bed roll. It did not take long for her to fall into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't follow the main quest line so strictly anymore but try to keep this thing lore-friendly nevertheless.


	21. An Unexpected Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is finally time to start planning how to retake Camlorn and destroy Faolchu and his werewolf army.

Linnea was awoken by someone's presence in her tent; having noticed the unexpected intruder, she instinctively prepared to cast a spell to protect herself from the possible enemy. Even though she usually got up extremely slowly, this time the adrenaline rush caused by the random person in her tent chased away her tiredness quickly. As she opened her eyes, she saw Mrs. Virchow, the General's wife, standing in front of her. "I hope you slept well. I'm sorry that I had to wake you up but it's afternoon already," she greeted her. Linnea got up and replied: "Oh, no problem. It's great that you woke me up, so that I'll have time to prepare for the Duke's arrival and the meeting. I think he's going to come here today." "Well, actually the Duke arrived already this morning, and the meeting is starting right now - my husband sent me to get you there," she corrected her. It took Linnea some time to realise what she had said - and then she quickly started to tidy herself up a bit. "Here, I thought you'd like to have something quick to eat," Mrs. Virchow said and gave her a cup of coffee and a slice of bread with some butter on it; she also gave her a small purse with a bit gold in it, saying: "And, take this, too. I want to thank you for saving my husband's life. It's not much but -" "Oh, you don't have to give me anything," she tried to object but since she absolutely wanted to reward her, she politely thanked her and took the gold she gave her; after all, her supplies of nightshade were running low, thus she would require gold to acquire more of it from a fellow alchemist.

  
Thus, Linnea ate the slice of bread as quickly as possible and took the cup of coffee with her; it was still too hot for her to drink at once, and she tried to sip it while hurrying to the meeting. Even though the cup was not full, she somehow manged to spill the coffee onto her new gear and cursed aloud when the hot beverage burnt her hand and stained the sleeve of her brand new and clean mage robes. She had forgotten to ask where the meeting would be held but it was not difficult for her to deduce that the place would most likely be the Duke's tent which was easy to distinguish. It was the largest tent in the encampment, and it had been established to the empty space in the central position of the Lion Guard base. She was relieved that she had not set up her own tent to that area like she first had intended to; fortunately, she had realised that there would probably be some reason why there had been no soldiers' tents there.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm late, Sir," she cried out to Duke Sebastian as she rushed into his temporary residence. The tent was made of sturdy material and it was huge enough for hosting the meeting where the higher-ranked leaders of the troops took part in, and it also included his personal quarters that were separated from the meeting space with elegant dividers. The generals and the captains were sitting at the large table that was in the middle of the tent. The Duke himself was sitting at the end of it; there was one empty chair on the opposite side of him. He turned to look at her and said to her with a formal but polite tone: "That is not a problem. I am delighted to meet you again, friend." Then he pointed at the empty chair and continued: "Take a seat, please, so we will get fully started now that you arrived. But first I want to thank you - this time for saving the life of one of our best generals in the Lion Guard - I already heard what happened yesterday." "No problem, Sir!" she shortly replied, sat down and put her coffee cup onto the table; she was not sure whether it would be appropriate to drink it, since no one else was drinking anything but she intended to quickly and subtly empty the cup a bit later, nevertheless.  
  
"So, we have decided to split the forces and simultaneously retake the city and start a battle against Faolchu in order to slay him. I suggest that I will lead my troops into the battle against that beast and General Gautier's troops will retake the city," General Virchow said. "I support that," General Gautier agreed with him but then wondered: "But are you sure that you are going to take part in the battle yourself, being injured, I mean? I don't think it is a good idea." "I can compensate it, I will not let that prevent me from fulfilling my duty," he replied. General Gautier looked at him and then stated firmly but in a friendly way: "You are not in your full health, you are still recovering. That would be a severe risk not only to you but also to your troops because you could not lead them as well as you should." He paused for a moment and then added, smiling a bit: "Besides, if you didn't get killed in the battle, our healers would certainly kill you when they would find out that you had taken a risk to get an injury into that arm again, after all the effort they spent to fix it!" "I – Oh, well, I guess you are right," he reluctantly admitted, and stated: "Then we will decide who leads my troops in my absence."

"I suggest to choose Captain Gautier for that position. Not because he is my son but because I truly think he is the most fitting person for that task - he is not afraid of those undead creatures. I know that many of the Lion Guard soldiers are and it is no wonder, since this is not what we usually deal with," General Gautier said. "What about Linnea?" the Duke suggested; then he turned to look at her and asked: "You have lots of experience of fighting against the undead, is that right?" "Yes, sir, I think I could say so. I was - am - a templar, to hunt down the undead creatures is what I am supposed to do, I guess," she replied. "Excellent. I have also heard that you have single-handedly destroyed a Dark Anchor, is that also true?" he asked. "Yes, sir, in fact two of them," she replied, feeling somewhat awkward by suddenly being the focus on everyone's attention and interest. "Do you have any military training or experience of serving in the army?" General Virchow asked from her. "No, sir, I don't. And I've always preferred to work alone," she answered to his question. "Alright. Then Captain Gautier will lead my troops, and I want you to assist him with that. You would command the battlemages and healers but he would be ultimately in charge of my forces. Do you accept that task?" he asked. "Yes, sir, I do," she replied, being extremely relieved that no one had really asked her to lead his forces. "Good. So, in conclusion, Captain Gautier leads the troops in my absence and Linnea assists him by leading the mages," he summed up.  
  
"So, Linnea has been investigating the matter of slaying Faolchu and I believe she has found a solution for it," the Duke stated. "His weakness is fire, and he is supposed to be vulnerable to it. I think we should use that as our advantage," she said. "Very well. It seems that our battlemages would have a crucial role with their fire spells in the coming battle, then," General Virchow assumed but she said: "Maybe, but I am not sure whether they could slay the monster with their spells alone. I don't know whether the fire of arcane origin would be potent enough or if he is only susceptible to natural fire." "I think - If I can suggest a strategy - that we should build him a trap and lure him into that and then set him into fire. But he is not a brainless beast so the trap can't be obvious and easily noticed," she suggested instead. "That is a brilliant idea indeed," the Duke said and the generals agreed with him.  
  
They discussed about the strategy she had proposed and planned it in a greater detail; they revised once again everything that they knew about Faolchu and thought how they could use that knowledge against him.   
  
"And we also have to choose someone among the soldiers who will lure the monster into our trap. Preferably a volunteer because if they are too scared they will more likely fail in that," General Virchow stated. "I could do it, sir," Linnea and Darien said almost simultaneously. General Gautier looked at them and said instantly: "No, you can't." "Why not?" Darien asked him; having seen his and Linnea's confused expressions, General Virchow patiently explained to them: "Because you have to lead the troops. That is your role and you must focus on that. Do you understand my point?" "Yes, sir," they both replied. "Great. And we still have some issues to discuss about so let's move onto them," he said.  
  
The meeting still lasted about an hour, and the sun was already setting when it ended. The Duke invited the generals, Linnea, and Darien to stay and have dinner with him; Linnea was hungry, thus she waited especially eagerly to get something to eat. She was pleased when she noticed that a servant brought them a large bowl of venison stew with some vegetables in it and freshly baked bread. Now that the official meeting was over, the authorities started to speak informally and acted laid back. Even though the atmosphere was doubtlessly filled with the anticipation of the battle that was inevitably coming soon, everyone made their best to brighten up the mood; they did not discuss much about the military topics but mostly talked about unofficial matters instead.  
  
"How's your wife?" the Duke asked General Virchow. "She's fine, and how's your family?" he said smiling happily; he did not want to reveal the wonderful news about her pregnancy to his friends yet. "They're fine, too - at least considering everything that has happened recently," he answered. Linnea took herself another slice of bread and asked General Virchow, whether he would like to have some too, since she remembered that it was difficult for him to cut it using only his left hand; he nodded and thanked her. "But your wife must have been mad at you when she found out what kind of trouble you had gotten yourself into - for heaven's sake, what kind of idea that was of you to take part in that scouting mission? You haven't been a scout for ages, you're a general now!" the Duke wondered. "In fact, she hasn't been angry with me - at least she hasn't shown it yet," he said smirking and continued: "We don't have enough good scouts at the moment, to be honest. Many of them are new and inexperienced." "Aye, that's true...and Linnea can prove it, since she has experience of some of them," Darien said and looked at her amused. "What in Oblivion do you mean with that?" his father asked him astonished, thus he explained: "She got captured by them when she was returning to our base!" Now the generals and the Duke looked even more confused, so she said: "They mistook me as a Bloodthorn bandit because I was still wearing that Bloodthorn disguise that I used to get into their camp unnoticed," and explained what had happened back then.

"I don't blame them, that outfit fooled me, too, I also thought that you were a Bloodthorn when you came to rescue me. I already thought you’d start to interrogate and torture me, or that you’d finish me straight away!" General Virchow said, and then asked: "By the way, what happened after we parted ways that night? I only know that you succeeded in destroying the crystal and eventually returned to our encampment but I have no idea how you did it."  
  
"Stendarr's Mercy, when we think about everything that you've been involved in and survived of, it seems that you must truly be blessed by the Eight," the Duke stated to her in awe when she had finished telling what had happened during the night when she had rescued General Virchow and destroyed the dark crystal. "I - I don't know...maybe I am, then," she replied but she did not believe that herself - she rather thought that she was cursed by both Aedra and Daedra, instead. "I'm eternally grateful to you, of course -" General Virchow said to her - and then warned her: "- but beware, if you keep taking that kinds of risks, the Divines might eventually grow tired of protecting you!" "I'll try to remember that," she said and smiled.

When they had finished having dinner, Darien, who had apparently become too bored of listening to his father and the other leaders reminiscing the old military events from the times they were younger - since he had heard them too many times already - got up from the table. Linnea saw that he was about to leave, thus she thanked the Duke for the delicious meal and got up too to leave with him; she would have been interested to hear their stories but she did not feel like she belonged in their company if Darien left.  
  
"Hey _kids_ , I want to talk with you before you usurp my forces," General Virchow said to them jokingly when they were about to go; then he got serious and added: "We need to discuss about the coming battle," and went outside with them. He was stressed about the change of the leadership of his troops; the more he had thought about the matter, the more concerned he had become of the fact that two rather reckless, impulsive and young persons would be leading his forces. What he was extremely afraid of, was that when Linnea and Darien would be fighting together, those risky personality traits of theirs could become even more prominent.  
  
"Now listen to me carefully. I know that you're both impulsive and sometimes take way too large risks but I want you to behave like responsible leaders do when you're in charge," he started to lecture them in a fatherly manner. "I don't think we take too big risks," Darien protested but he continued: "Yes you take. But this time you won't - you will proceed carefully and properly assess the situation before acting. Is that clear?" "Yes, sir," they both replied silently, staring at the ground in front of them. "I assume you know how we deal with the soldiers that get bitten - everyone serving here knows the protocol for that unfortunate situation," he stated and they nodded; then he continued: "I know that the losses are an inevitable part of this kinds of battles but as I said, proceed carefully - don't waste the lives of my soldiers in vain, and keep in your mind that most of the soldiers have families waiting for them at home. So, don't fight till the last man; if our tactic is not going to work out successfully, then retreat in a controlled manner, join General Gautier's troops and figure out together with him what to do, remember that?" "Yes, we'll remember," Darien promised. Then the General sighed and said: "And promise me that you won't get yourselves killed because of some foolish attempt to play a hero." He turned to look at Darien and said: “You won’t do anything stupid to try to impress her, is that clear?” “Yep,” he replied silently; then the General said to Linnea: “And you, remember what I said a while ago? Your good luck won’t last forever, if you keep pushing it.” “That’s probably true,” she admitted. Since they did not have any questions to him, the General forced himself to smile at them encouragingly and wished them good luck for the battle before going back into the tent and joining the Duke's and General Gautier's company again.

"So, I have to take care of some things first but would you like to join my company tonight? I'd have a large bottle of very exquisite wine. I've been saving it for special occasions, and I think this would be a very special one, indeed, to spend the night with the hero of Daggerfall," Darien suggested to her. "I - I don't think I'm in the right mood for that now. And we should get prepared for the fight somehow...I've never led anything before, I'll have to try to find and read some book about military strategies or something! I don't think it's responsible behaviour to waste the night before a battle for anything not related to it - we should be preparing for tomorrow," she anxiously rejected his offer. He put his hand onto her shoulder and reassuringly replied her: "Oh, just relax, hero, you'll be doing fine tomorrow! You wouldn't possibly have enough time to learn anything from books now, and I don't think any strategy book would even help you, because this is going to be a totally different kind of battle than they usually are. You know, armies don't often fight against a werewolf battalion. You should hang with me instead, we could plan strategies together and I could teach you something about leading and so on." Then he smiled at her disarmingly and stated: "Besides, wouldn't it be totally irresponsible of you to allow me to drink the whole bottle of wine alone?" She laughed a bit and admitted: "Maybe I should join you then." "Great! See you later!" he promised.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I'm sure that you'll be doing just fine with the leading tomorrow," one of the battlemages assured to Linnea, who had gone to visit their segment of the encampment. She had intended to search for appropriate books about leading in the field library that was located in there but she had found none. Fortunately, she had ended up discussing with some of the battlemages and healers of the troops, and discovered that it was a great way to gain more knowledge about the matter, since many of them had experience of several battles already.  
  
"But I haven't led anything before, this might end up with a catastrophe as well!" Linnea replied, not even trying to hide her anxiousness. "At least you're a mage yourself, and quite a competent one, if the rumours I've heard about your deeds are true," she replied and explained: "Normally the highest ranked military leader - here it's been the General - is our highest leader and they're almost always fighters, not mages, so they might have no idea of how spells and such are cast and work. General Virchow is not a spellsword but he seems to know surprisingly much about magicka - I know he can even cast at least some simple spells himself - so he has led us well but in some forces where I've served, the leader has had no idea about how spells and such work, and it's been difficult to obey the commands then. So, I think you'll be a better leader than some that we've had - for example you understand how mages run out of magicka and that some spells take time to be cast and so on." She nodded and replied: "Yep, I know that of my own experience, indeed! So, I'll try my best tomorrow, let's hope that everything goes well enough." "Oh, I'm sure about that! And I think it'll help Darien greatly that you lead us - he might know some of the mages especially well but he surely doesn't have much idea of the magicka itself that they use," she stated to her, smiling deviously; Linnea smiled, too, and replied: "Speaking of whom..."  
  
"Oh, there you are, hero! I thought I might find you in here," Darien greeted her. Linnea turned to look at him and replied: "Yep...I came here to get to know better the troops I'm going to lead tomorrow." "Well, of course! That's what I've been doing here all the time, too," he stated, smiled at her and then continued: "But let's get to my tent, we still have a strategy to plan!" "Fine for me, then," she replied and left with him. "A strategy to plan, aye..." the battlemage Linnea had been discussing with said to herself amused when they had gone.  
  
"So, what do you think about tomorrow's battle? Feeling nervous?" Darien asked her as they walked to his tent; on their way there, they strolled around the Lion Guard encampment, since they both felt like going for a short walk. The night was bright and cold. The day had been warm and the rest of the remaining snow had melted completely; now there were only frozen puddles and small frozen streams between them. They heard the howling of the werewolves that were roaming outside the walls of their base; the Moons were growing, and those creatures appeared to become more restless night by night before the Full Moons.  
  
"Maybe a bit," she admitted and stated: "Not so much about the monster himself but more about the responsibility I'll have tomorrow." "You claim that you're not afraid of Faolchu?" he questioned what she had said. She thought about the matter and then tried to explain: "Well, I guess he frightens me to some extend but I have this...vision of mine - or rather a déjà-vu - of slaying him, I kind of maybe feel like it's my destiny to slay him _again_ or something, it's hard to put into words what I mean but anyways..." He looked at her admiringly and flirted to her: "Oh, you mages are so full of mysteries and that's what I especially like about you - besides your beauty, of course!" "Hah, thanks!" she replied amused and asked him in turn: "Are you nervous about tomorrow's battle, yourself?"  
  
"Not so very much," he replied, and now she questioned what he had stated. "Well, do you think I'd admit it to a beautiful lady if I was," he replied and winked at her, then continuing: "And I have quite good armour, I don't think that even a werewolf could easily bite me through it...talking about which, you are going to wear heavier armour than that dress tomorrow, aren't you?" "Actually, I think these are pretty well armoured for mage robes. I'm no fighter, so heavy armour would only hinder me down," she explained. "Really? Not even steel bracers or something?" he asked a bit concerned but she replied: "I think they'd only bother me...I've never used such before and I think they'd disturb me when I cast my spells. I have this thing called _combat healing_ which prevents me from taking both physical and magical damage while I cast it." "Oh, very well, I trust your judgement then," he said and then asked playfully: "By the way, do you still have that Bloodthorn outfit somewhere? It suited you, really!"

  
"You surely didn't lie when you said that your tent is in the best place of the whole encampment, and you have all kinds of nice things here," Linnea complimented him as they sat together at the small table in his tent which was, being a captain's residence, larger and better equipped than the basic soldiers’ tents one of which Linnea had as her accommodation. "I told you, dear...but still you chose to set up that little tent of yours, instead of joining my company," he reminded her. "Hah, I guess I prefer solitude and to have some privacy," she replied and smiled. "Over my company? Oh my...that's not what I usually hear from the ladies," he wondered jokingly and then asked: "Hey what do you like about the wine? It's finest quality as I promised," filling their glasses again. "Oh, the wine tastes very good...but I think it's quite strong!" she replied, having started to feel its effects already.  
  
"As any good wine should be!" he declared happily and raised his glass, which made her laugh. "Oh, it's so nicely warm in here, even though it's rather cold outside," she said contently. "Yep, it's always warm in here, you know one of the good things of being a captain is to have a stove in my tent - it must be really cold for you to spend nights all alone in your place…" he stated to her. "Maybe a little bit. I don't know yet cos I was so exhausted last night that I could've slept tight, not feeling the coldness, even if I had been sleeping on an iceberg in the middle of the Sea of the Ghosts!" she assumed. "But it's getting cold in here, too, if we don't have the fire burning in the stove," he stated and asked: "Would you please go and lit those logs in it on fire, dear?" He observed her intensely as she cast her spell, looking delighted as he watched how her magic created the flames that started to devour the firewood.  
  
"You know what's another fancy thing of being a captain?" he asked her. "To have a proper bed in here, of course - and it's even big enough for two..." he answered to his own question suggestively but she appeared to miss his hidden agenda. "It seems very comfortable, indeed," she replied - and then remembered: "By the way, you said earlier tonight that we should still plan the strategy further, right?" He laughed amused and poured the remaining contents of the wine bottle into their glasses; then he came closer to her, took her hand, and stated: "The only strategy we need to plan tonight is how I'll conquer your heart, m'lady!"  
  
"What in Oblivion...Oh, dear Gods!" she cried out, finally understanding where he was trying to get at, and quickly blurted: "I'm taken!" "Oh my, well that might complicate things a bit - someone from here?" he asked. "Nope, he's in Daggerfall," she replied. "Okay, then I don't probably know him," he assumed and stated, smiling suggestively: "Long distance relationships never work out well, dear, you know that?" "Hah, I'm sure they don't if you're around!" she said sarcastically, and added, smiling wickedly: "He's General Virchow's son, by the way, an officer in the Daggerfall City Guard, and he's a damn good fighter, probably even better than you are..." "Okay, okay, don't worry, darling, I know when it's time to back out," he said and playfully raised his hands as if he surrendered.  
  
"You really miss him," he stated; he had noticed how sad she had become after she had told about her partner to him, thus he had made his best trying to brighten her up. "I do," she replied silently, staring into her glass; then she drank the rest of her wine, and stated: "It's getting late. Thanks for the wine and company and everything, I think I really should go now." "But you could stay here. As I said, the bed is large enough for both of us," he offered, and quickly added: "To get to sleep comfortably - nothing else, I promise!" She pondered on his unexpected offer; the idea of sharing her personal space with someone else than Aleksei distressed her greatly but in fact, she was not sure whether she would feel more anxious about another person's company or about solitude. Being alone had not been an issue to her before but for some reason she suddenly started to feel like the loneliness would be unbearable for her now. Moreover, it would really be significantly more comfortable to spend the night in a warm tent and in a proper bed instead of sleeping in the bedroll in her own tent.  
  
"I'd love to, thank you. And thanks for everything, you truly are a gentleman," she replied him. She had started to realise how kind and nice he was; the first impression she had gotten from him was that he might be a douchebag who only flirted to women and played nice to get what he wanted. However, she had been happy to notice that he truly seemed to care about other people. "No problem at all," he said to her, smiling in a friendly way; then he stated playfully: "But if I die tomorrow in the battle, it’ll be your fault that I didn't get lucky in my last night - and I'll haunt you forever for that!" She laughed at his joke, and said: "Hah! Don't worry, I'll make it damn sure that this won't be your last night on Tamriel - and I'm pretty certain that when we've slain Faolchu, you’ll be very, very popular among every woman here, Captain Gautier!" "Even more popular than I'm now, you mean?" he asked and smirked; then they wished each other goodnight and went to bed.


	22. The Nameless Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So it begins...it's time to take back Camlorn!

_Linnea was lying on the bed, under the thick blanket and she felt so safe and content; it was warm and comfortable there, and his presence soothed her. They lay there together, like they always did in the mornings when he was not on duty. She loved how things were now like they had always been - except that his scent was different. Usually he did not wear any fragrance. She said to him drowsily, still drifting in her dream world: "Good morning, Dorian, dear."_

_  
_ "Oh, good morning to you, too, _dear_ , but actually it's Darien, not Dorian," he corrected her sleepily, having just woken up. As she opened her eyes, she saw that she was not at home but in a Lion Guard tent, instead - and then she noticed that she had woken up in the same bed with Captain Gautier. "Oh, dear Gods, you're not Aleksei!" she cried out shocked and said to herself desperately: "Oh Gods...what have I done?" She could not remember well what had happened during the last night. She recalled having drank a considerable amount of wine - and possibly she had also taken some nightshade to calm herself down. It was not very difficult for her to come up with the guesses about what most likely had happened.   
  
"Nope, I'm neither Aleksei nor Dorian...even though Dorian is closer to my name," Darien replied to her, smiling amused and assured her, having seen her shocked expression: "And don't worry, hero! Nothing happened between us last night, you rejected me - I don't even remember the last time when a lass would have done that to me..." "Oh...that's - that's great," she replied extremely relieved, holding her hand against her aching head and asked confused: "But Dorian...do you know him or why did you mention that name?" "I have no idea who he is, you are the one who called me with that name, dear," he explained to her and stated: "Oh my, you're still a bit dazed, aren't you? My head's aching too, maybe that wine was stronger than I expected - but don't worry, I'm sure that we'll be fine again after we've got something to eat!"  
  
"Good morning, sir. Here's your breakfast, there's enough of it for two, like usually!" a soldier greeted Darien as he entered the tent carrying a platter filled with food; having seen that he and Linnea were still in the bed, he asked: "Or should I return a bit later?" "Oh no, no, it's fine, you didn't interrupt anything, come on in, please," Darien replied and got up. "We're just friends!" Linnea quickly cried out to him, fearing that he misinterpreted the situation; she did not want that any kind of rumours would start to spread about her and Darien. The soldier smiled at her in a friendly way, and promised: "Don't worry m'lady, I don't gossip about Captain's business...or of yours, either!" "In fact, she's right about that - she was only resting in my bed because it's more comfortable than the basic bedrolls you poor souls have to sleep in," Darien confirmed what she had told; he laughed at the expression on the soldier's face and how he had almost accidentally dropped the platter when he had revealed that to him. "As I said to you, this rarely happens to me with lasses," Darien bragged.  
  
Linnea did not have much appetite, since she felt nervous about the coming battle and also due to the wine she had drunk last night. However, Darien reminded her how important it was to have a proper meal before the battle, and kindly forced her to eat enough. They enjoyed the breakfast in silence; when they were finished, she noticed that she felt so much better already. Thus, they got up from the table and started to make the final preparations for the day.  
  
"I could sharpen my sword a bit," Darien stated as he looked at his sword; to Linnea it seemed perfectly sharp but maybe taking care of his weapon was some kind of ritual for him before a fight. "Let me see yours," he suggested to her, and she handed her sword to him. He inspected the blade and said: "Oh, this could definitely use some grinding! Let's go to sharpen these." "Alright, then," she replied; it had not occurred to her before that her sword might need some mending every now and then.  
  
As they walked to the Blacksmith's camp to take care of their weapons, Linnea felt the tension in the encampment. She observed as the troops started to gather to the empty area in the base. At the brightest hour of the day, it would finally be time to take back Camlorn from the werewolf army it had fallen to.  
  
Linnea stared at Darien when he was working with his weapon at the grinding stone, casually chatting with the blacksmith's apprentice at the same time. She did not have any idea how the grinding actually worked but she decided to simply try to do everything the same way as he did - surely sharpening a blade could not be overwhelmingly challenging for her. Thus, she sat at the grinding stone and started to work.  
  
Linnea greeted Mrs. Virchow as she came to her post - as soon as she noticed what Linnea was doing, she cried out: "Oh no, you're spoiling your blade, if you keep doing that, you're holding it in a totally wrong position there!" and quickly took her sword from her. "Oh...this definitely seems easier than it really is, I kind of...don't know how this thing works, in fact," Linnea admitted to her. Mrs. Virchow smiled at her in a friendly way and said: "I'll sharpen your sword in no time. Next time just bring the gear that needs fixing to me straight away - it'll be easier for both of us that way." It did not take her long to grind the weapon; soon she gave it back to Linnea, complimenting: "This is a fine sword indeed. Quite light but can still deal serious damage." "Thanks, I like it very much, too," she replied. Darien, who had just finished mending his weapon, got up and stated to Linnea: "You're ready, too? Good. I think it's time for us to go now." She nodded, and replied: "I'm ready. Let's go." When they were about to leave, Mrs. Virchow wished them both good luck for the battle and said to Darien: "Say my thanks and regards to your father - it's a good thing that he managed to talk some sense into my husband so that he won't go to the battle being injured!" "You're not coming today?" he asked her; he had often seen her taking part in the battles, despite her husband disliked it. "No, not this time," she replied shortly, sounding a bit disappointed.  
  
"What's going to happen next?" Linnea asked Darien as they were walking with General Gautier and General Virchow towards a small platform in front of their army. "Well, I'd guess that first my father's going to greet the army and explain the fighting strategy to them and General Virchow will explain the change of the leadership to his forces. Then probably I'll greet my troops and preferably you'll present yourself to them and say something encouraging," he assumed. "By Sheogorath's Madness, you mean that I have to say something smart in front of all of them?" she asked terrified. "Well, of course! I can imagine that everyone wants to hear what the gorgeous hero of Daggerfall and saviour of our beloved General has to say for them," he cheerfully declared. "But I dunno what to say," she claimed fearfully. "Don't worry, I'll help you out, if necessary, _hero_ ," he promised, and assured her that everything would go well.  
  
First Duke Sebastian shortly greeted them all; after he had spoken, while listening to General Gautier's and then General Virchow's speeches, Linnea desperately tried to figure out what to say to the forces. When Darien was presenting her to the troops, she suddenly remembered what she had said to the soldiers in her first day in the Lion Guard base, and how they had appreciated greatly what she had stated. Thus, when Darien looked at her as the sign that it was her turn to speak, she stood tall, and rallied the forces: "So, as mentioned before, this is going to be a remarkable day - we are going to take Camlorn back from those beasts and slay Faolchu for good! I know that many of you are afraid of those werewolves and especially of their leader. I don't blame you for that but still I demand that you all fight bravely for that is what I demand from myself, too. It is said that Faolchu would be impossible to kill but that is not true; they have slain him once, long before our time and now we will do it again, this time for good. Do not fear what is coming, because no matter whether you survive this battle or fall, the future generations will hold us all who fight here as heroes. May our deeds here never be forgotten!" As she spoke, she felt the _butterflies_ in her stomach – and the warmth of the sunlight in her chest.  
  
She was extremely surprised by the impact her speech had on the soldiers - she had managed to inspire them greatly. Darien turned to look at her smiling and subtly said to her: "Wow, that was charismatic, you surely know how to rally the forces and yet you were so scared like a little girl when I told you that you should say something to them! You truly are full of surprises..." "Thanks," she replied, and added a bit confused: "I still don't know how I did that, though...it felt as if it wasn't me who was speaking but as if there was someone else inside of me that did it or something!"

And so the battle began. They unlocked the city gates and rushed into Camlorn. The focus of Darien and Linnea's troops was the castle where Faolchu resided in, probably with his favourite werewolf companions. General Gautier's troops ensured that they made it there without having to stop to take fight against the werewolves outside; his forces would take care of them while they would attempt to slay Faolchu inside of the castle.  
  
Their tactic was very efficient. The extremely heavily armoured soldiers focused on protecting the battle mages and archers, whose role was to deal damage onto the werewolves; the healers were located right behind the well-armoured soldiers and cast constant healing onto them to additionally prevent them from taking damage. The soldiers and the mages that had been chosen to carry out the plan to trap Faolchu were waiting for Darien's orders.

Linnea took a look at Darien; she wondered if he had lots of experience of leading army in the battles. He was rather young to be a leader but he looked so confident and seemed to know perfectly what to do; that pacified Linnea greatly, and she felt how her fear subsided. Then she saw Faolchu himself arriving to the site of the battle - he seemed enraged.  
  
When they had eliminated most of Faolchu's minions, it was time to start executing the plan to trap and kill him. Darien gave the signal, and two battle mages stepped forward and started to throw fire balls at Faolchu to get his attention. As he fiercely started to follow them - just like they had wished him to - six soldiers threw an extremely strong and heavy web onto him, and trapped him in it. They would only have to set him on fire, and the battle would soon be won; the rest of the forces were successfully eliminating Faolchu's remaining minions inside the castle.  
  
Unfortunately they had underestimated Faolchu's strength. As he furiously broke free from the net, the soldiers that had trapped him got entwined into it and were trapped there themselves. The monster was so fast and strong that no one could have saved them; they could only watch shocked as they were being slaughtered. Linnea silently gestured to the healers, commanding them to stop healing them, since it would only lengthen their suffering. As she helplessly stared into the eyes of a dying man - who was the same soldier that had served the breakfast for her and Darien in the morning - she could not hear his screaming. In fact, she could not hear any voices of the battlefield, as she was totally shrouded by the silence caused by the wings of countless little butterflies of the Mad God that had invaded her mind.  
  
"It - it didn't work out...we failed," Darien said shocked and shouted: "Prepare to retreat from the castle!" doing exactly like General Virchow had ordered them to do in case they would not succeed. The silence in Linnea's mind was broken by the voice of Sheogorath himself, it said: "Finally time for us to have some _fun_! Kill the beast, _mortal_ , slaughter it! Surprise them all, hahaa!" Then she saw the pink butterflies; some of them flied to the stairway that led to the basement of the castle and some of them started to circle around her and around Faolchu. Suddenly she felt certain about her role in the battle, as if she had become enlightened in some way.  
  
"Did you hear what I said, Linnea?" Darien asked her; it concerned him how absent she looked. "It seems that also this time the duty to kill Faolchu falls on me. I must make him follow me downstairs," she replied to him very calmly, as if she was in trance. "No, I said that we will retreat now! I order the troops to leave the castle at once and find General Gautier's forces and join them, and you'll come out with me, too!" he commanded but she ignored him totally, and rushed towards the monster instead, throwing the balls of sunlight at him and shouting provocatively: "It's time for you to die now, abomination! Remember me? _The Nameless Soldier_! I've come for you _again_!"  
  
"What are you doing?" Darien yelled at her distraught as she ran down the stairs, followed by Faolchu. The situation was chaotic and beyond his control. Fortunately, the soldiers had obeyed him and left the castle but the battlemages and healers seemed to be confused. Some of them had also retreated like he had commanded them to do but many of them had followed Linnea - who was their leader but who herself should have obeyed Darien - and Faolchu into the basement of the castle. Fortunately, though, there did not seem to be any more werewolves left in the castle besides Faolchu. Darien decided to follow them all downstairs; the soldiers would know what to do next and he was sure that Linnea and the rest of the mages would require his help more than the soldiers did.

The pink butterflies led Linnea towards a recession in the basement floor. Its bottom was covered with hay and there were barrels of Dwemer oil in it, some of which had fallen and spilt their contents onto the floor. The recession would be deep enough to trap Faolchu in there but not too deep for her to jump down, if she cast healing onto her while hitting the floor. Thus, she followed the pink butterflies into the recession, remaining unharmed due to her healing spell. She noticed that the raging Faolchu had come there after her, too. She quickly put up her sunlight shield to prevent the beast from touching her and she occasionally threw her balls of sunlight at him to make him back out from her; even though her spells would not be enough to kill him, they seemed to hurt him greatly.  
  
"Don't worry, I- I'll get you out of there, I promise!" Darien, who had followed them down to the basement, shouted at her, sounding nervous. "It's alright!" she shouted back; the pink butterflies had led her there but she would have to consider her next step. It was obvious to her that she should set the hay and the oil on fire but she would have preferred to do it with natural fire, instead of her spells. Then, suddenly, the butterflies disappeared, and she heard a woman's voice echoing in her head, saying: "Use the torches, mortal!" She looked up and saw the same strange star shining above her that she had seen when she had almost drowned into the sea - and then she saw the scones that were placed onto the wall above her. The combination that could have in other circumstances caused an accident was now a strike of luck instead.  
  
"Alright, I'll - I'll come down there to help you...as soon as I find a rope or anything like that," Darien said frightened but she shouted: "No, everyone stay back!" As soon as she had taunted Faolchu again so that he had backed out to the opposite side of the recession, she cast a spell that exploded against the torches, making them fall onto the floor. "No! Are you insane? You'll burn alive!" she heard Darien yelling shocked as he had realised what she had planned. "Healers! Focus here!" she commanded the mages; as soon as the torches set the floor on fire, she started to channel her strongest combat healing onto herself.  
  
The flames began to consume Faolchu who cried in agony as he was facing his end. Linnea's spell protected her from the destructive forces of fire. She estimated that - especially combined with the spells of the other healers - she had excellent chances to survive. However, even dying Faolchu was dangerous. He grunted at her: "Here is a _gift_ for you, hero! May it bring you as much trouble and pain as it gave to me," and sank his teeth into her forearm. Despite all the protective healing she received, she felt how the sharp canines of the werewolf pierced her skin.


	23. Sanies Lupinus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Your good luck won’t last forever, if you keep pushing it."

Linnea fell onto her knees exhausted, next to lifeless Faolchu. She had not cast such a strong healing spell ever before, and it had totally drained all of her energy and magicka. The void in her mind left by the Daedric visit in there was soon filled with the flood of her own thoughts. The flames had faded. It was over. Faolchu was dead, and she was alive and mostly unharmed - except that he had bitten her before he had died. She would get lycanthropy and turn into a werewolf. Or rather, because everyone who had gotten bitten would be eliminated, she would die and pass on to Aetherius. Except that it would not happen either, since her soul was in Coldharbour - she would be drawn into that Plane of Oblivion and become Molag Bal's prisoner again. Or maybe all this was only a bad dream, from which she would soon wake up like she had woken up from her nightmares so many times before.

  
Darien's voice forced her to focus on the world surrounding her again. "Linnea! By the Eight, you're alive! Are you injured?" he asked her, looking at her from the edge of the recession. "No, I'm unharmed," she claimed and added: "Faolchu is dead now." She slowly stood up and kicked the charred body of her enemy; it did not show any signs of life. For a moment everyone stood still - then the healers and the battlemages started to cheer and applaud at her. She felt that the biting mark in her arm started to bleed slowly, thus she stuck her hand into the pocket of her robes. She did not want anyone to notice the bite; she _did not want to believe_ _it_ that a werewolf had bitten her.  
  
General Gautier entered the castle with his troops. "We have dispatched all of the werewolves within the city walls now. What is the situation in here?" he asked. "We killed them all here. Faolchu is dead now, father, she killed him! That was totally insane!" Darien answered him joyfully, not bothering to speak to him formally anymore, and pointed at Linnea and Faolchu's remains. General Gautier looked at her and asked astonished: "You killed him all by yourself?" "Yes, sir! But the healers supported me," she replied. "She lured him there and then set everything on the floor on fire. Faolchu burned to his death but she was not harmed by the flames herself!" Darien explained to him in awe. "How in Oblivion is that even possible?" his father wondered aloud. "I used all my magicka to heal myself, sir. And as mentioned before, I also received healing from our mages," she told him. Someone had found ladders; Darien set them to the recession, and he and his father climbed down to inspect the dead beast.  
  
In the evening after the battle, Linnea sat in the inn of Camlorn; the city was secured, and the citizens who had survived the werewolf invasion had been allowed to return to their homes. The soldiers had gathered into the inn to celebrate the victory - except for them who had remained to guard the city in case of possible attempts to capture it again - and they had brought food and drink from the base with them. However, the future attacks appeared to be unlikely, since the leader of the werewolf army had been eliminated; the remaining werewolves aimlessly roaming outside the city walls would be easy to get rid of later.  
  
She sat at the table alone and stared into her flagon; occasionally people came to hail her, showing respect to the slayer of Faolchu, and asked her to join their company. She had forced herself to smile at them but she had politely rejected their offers, explaining that she needed to be alone for a moment. General Virchow and his wife had also come to greet her but they had not stayed for a long time - as soon as Mrs. Virchow had seen that pumpkin pie was served in the inn and smelled its scent, she had quickly rushed out, not feeling well. The General had smiled, looking happy - not because of her wife feeling unwell but because he knew the reason for that - and had gone out with her.  
  
Linnea felt sorrow and was agonised by the thoughts of what would happen to her next. She had tried to cleanse the wound to prevent the lycanthropy from spreading to her, even though she had anticipated that her efforts would be in vain. She had tried every extract and solution with cleansing properties that she knew but none of them had had any kind of effect on the damaged area - the cursed wound had not even gotten closed when she had cast her healing spells onto it, childishly hoping that if it disappeared, she would not have to think about the matter anymore. She knew, though, that not even amputating her arm would have saved her, since already very soon after Faolchu had bitten her, she had felt how the disease had been spreading everywhere in her body through her bloodstream. _"If this is a nightmare, now it would be a damn good time to wake up!"_ she thought to herself.  
  
The bard of the Lion Guard troops had also come to the inn to entertain the forces with her singing and playing. Linnea had not paid attention to her, since she definitely was not in the mood for celebrating. However, when the bard started to sing the song called _Stagger and Sway_ \- the very same song Linnea remembered having often enjoyed of listening to when she had been in the Rosy Lion inn with Aleksei and their friends - she could not ignore the music anymore. The memories it brought to her mind were like sharp pieces of a broken glass; she could not listen to that song any longer, thus she got up from the table and went to have a word with the bard.  
  
"Hey, excuse me, could you play something else, please?" she asked the bard. "A-aye, sure!" she replied, being confused by how displeased she sounded with her singing that ballade, since usually people loved it. "Hey, I liked it!"  Darien, who was flirting with two female soldiers, protested. "But I don't!" Linnea snapped at him annoyed and stated: "And think of all the fallen soldiers, whose families have lost their loved one today!" "Very sad things happened today, yes, but this is war, dear, and there is no battle without losses. But _we're alive_ and that's something, right? Everyone in this inn is alive, Faolchu is dead and the city is ours again, isn't that worth celebrating?" he pointed out. "Yes...of course...you're right about that," she admitted - and then stated: "But that song is lame in any case...I'd rather like to hear _Battle of Glenumbra Moors_ ," thus the bard began to play it. "Well, you're the slayer of Faolchu, I think you have all the right to choose songs tonight...and to be a bit bossy, too, hero!" he stated to her playfully. "Oh, I think you played at least as significant role in the battle as I did," she said to him and smiled a bit; then she subtly winked at him and stated to his companions: "And you should have seen how calmly and smartly he led the troops in the castle, and how fearlessly he fought against that terrible monster!"  
  
Linnea quickly emptied a large glass of spiced wine. A battlemage from her troops had wanted to share the bottle of that fine beverage with her; she had been saving it from last winter's festivities. Linnea was pleased to notice that the strong drink numbed her feelings a bit and warmed her from the inside; she had started to shiver from cold as the fever rose. As she got up from the table, she felt slightly dizzy and lightheaded. She dressed her cloak on and went out, since she did not feel like she belonged among the merry people celebrating the victory - and their own survival - in the inn.

She wandered around the city in the twilight. There were piles of dead werewolves being burnt; the smell of their burning flesh and hair was somewhat sickening to Linnea but she still kind of enjoyed it. There were soldiers patrolling in the streets and especially near the gates; maybe some of them would have wanted to join the festivities in the inn but most of them appeared to have volunteered to stay guarding the city. Linnea did not ask them if they had lost someone dear to them in the battle against the werewolves but she assumed it being the reason for their willingness to be on duty that night, instead of celebrating.  
  
The chilly air made her sore throat hurt even more, and as she touched her neck, she felt the swollen glands there; when she discreetly took a look at her wound, she saw that the area around it was red and bloated. She could not avoid being constantly aware of the contagion. She knew that she should tell the leaders, either to General Gautier or to General Virchow, that she had been bitten by a werewolf - in fact, she should have informed Darien and his father about it right after the battle was over. However, she wondered if even turning into a mindless beast would be a worse fate than the other option she had. She had not been afraid of dying before - not even in the castle of Daggerfall that night when she had been severely wounded - but now that she had had time to realise what would inevitably be coming to her, she felt extremely frightened. As she was desperately thinking about what to do, she noticed that she was standing in front of a cathedral of the Eight divines, and decided to step in; at least it could be warmer in there than it was outside.  
  
The sacred building had been ransacked but not devastated too badly. There were broken benches laying on the floor, the carpets were dirty and torn, and the silverware and other trophies had been scattered around the cathedral but the beautiful windows that were decorated with detailed icons and the altar in front of them had remained unharmed. Linnea lit candles onto the altar and the side tables and explored the interiors. It was silent there; she was all alone.  
  
She walked to the altar and kneeled in front of it. She did not assume that she had ever been such a religious person but now she desperately prayed the divines for help; it was all the same for her which one of the Eight would hear her request for help, she only wanted to be saved. She waited there but none of them answered to her prayers - none of them even sent her any sign that she had been heard. _"Of course none of them hears my prayers - only Daedra talk to me, not the Divines...and on the other hand, why should they even care about a cursed mortal who has lost her soul to Molag Bal?"_ she thought bitterly, as she got up, extinguished the candles and lit her mage light instead. When she was about to leave, she saw someone else entering the building, casting their own mage light.  
  
General Virchow greeted her and lit up the candles she had extinguished a moment ago. "Good evening to you, too. I just came here out of interest...to check what kind of place this is. It's not very warm but at least it's peaceful in here," she replied him. "Aye, and this cathedral is very beautiful, too. Especially in daytime, when the light shines through those gracefully decorated windows," he said. He looked around and continued: "To repair the damage and clean up in here will be among highest priorities, so that we can give a proper burial ceremony and Arkay's blessing for those who have lost their lives because of the werewolf invasion that took place in this city.”

"I came here to pray and to thank the Divines for our success today - it was you who killed Faolchu but I'm sure that the Eight helped us today," he stated to her. She would have wanted to point out that in fact it was the Mad God who had _helped_ her, not the Eight - but she held back her words. Instead, she just smiled politely at him. "Which of the Eight do you refer most to, by the way?" he asked her. "I - I don't know. I've never thought about that so much..." she replied a bit confused and quickly added: "Maybe…Julianos?" "That's interesting," he replied a bit surprised and added: "I thought you'd say Arkay, because you're a templar and a healer." She shrugged, and replied: "It's pretty much all the same for me, I don't care about the Gods so much." However, she suddenly proposed: "In fact, I’d like to stay here praying with you, if you don't mind of course;" she would gather her courage and tell him about the contagion. He smiled at her and replied: "You're most welcome to join my company."  
  
As they sat on the floor silently, she got an idea. "I ask your permission to go after Angof now and try my best to take him down, sir," she said to him. "Denied," he replied astonished and wondered: "Where did you even get such a stupid idea?" "You owe me a favour, because I saved your life," she pointed out but he said: " Yes but that doesn't mean that I'll send you to your doom! I know about your deeds and about the rumours of you among the troops...but you're not immortal for sure. You must know that yourself, right?" "Nope I'm not...not at least in the way they probably think it," she replied. He looked at her for a while and then asked: "Are you feeling alright?" He had noticed that she looked quite pale and weary but he had anticipated that it was because of her lack of sleep and everything she had gone through in such a short time. However, what concerned him greatly was that when he now looked her into eyes, he recognised the feeling which absence in her had bothered him when he had threatened to kill her, mistaking her to be a Bloodthorn inquisitor - he had never seen fear in her before.  
  
"No," she admitted, rolled up the sleeve of her robes, revealing the biting marks in her arm, and finally revealed: "I got bitten by a werewolf." "Oh, dear Gods..." he cried out, turning as pale as she was, and asked shocked: "When...?" "Today. It was Faolchu - right before he died," she explained.

He remained silent and walked away from her - exactly like Aleksei used to do when he was angry with her or disappointed. "Didn't I specifically tell you not to play a hero and do something stupid that will get you killed?" he asked frustrated. He had seen it happening too many times that young and promising leaders had started to consider themselves invincible after some greater victories, and then their lives had ended because they had started to take too large risks. "You did...I'm so sorry about this," she ended up apologising him. He sighed and said: "Oh damn it, don't say that! I - I shouldn't have put two young, inexperienced and impulsive persons to lead my troops." "But Faolchu is dead now because of me, thus because of your decision to choose us to lead the troops," she reminded him. "Right...he is, that's true," he admitted, yet sounding sorrowful.

"So, you know what has to be done but on the other hand, you don't except to survive, if you go after Angof - I think I know what you have been planning," he assumed, and she explained: "I don't think I'd come back from Cath Bedraud. I don't truly think I'd stand a chance against Angof and his minions but I want to revenge him so badly for what he has done, and this is the last chance I'd have for that." "I understand," he replied and then remained silent for a great while, considering what to do with her request.  
  
"Very well, I let you go after Angof - but I'll come with you," he finally replied, leaving her totally appalled by his answer. "What in Oblivion do you mean?" she cried out and shouted: "For heaven's sake, your family needs you! Think about your pregnant wife and unborn child, and your son who would lose two persons dear to him, if - " "I'm doing this for my family, not only for the Covenant. If Angof seized Glenumbra, all my children would have to live in such a dark world – and my son would have to try to defend Daggerfall in a desperate fight against the Bloodthorns, Angof and his legion of undead soldiers. Besides, I don't have a death wish - in fact, I think the two of us could have pretty good chances to slay Angof together…even better chances than our army would have," he explained, making her even more confused. She stared at him for a while; it seemed obvious to her that Sheogorath had been talking to General Virchow, too. Then she replied him upset: "No way! I didn't rescue you from that bandit camp so that you'd only get yourself killed a couple of days later." "We're both going after Angof tonight. I don't think I need your permission to go to Cath Bedraud," he reminded her in a friendly way.  
  
"I want to write a letter to Aleksei. To say...my farewells to him. Could you help me to get it delivered to him?" she asked quietly. He nodded, and promised: "I'll make sure that my son gets it." Then he added, speaking mainly to himself: "And I'll have to leave a letter to be given to my unborn child when they are older, in case I wouldn't...oh dear Gods if they've inherited this tendency to...they have to be told about it, and they'll need guidance so that they won't..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has their secrets, some of them are smaller and some of them bigger. Can you guess what is General Virchow's secret?


	24. Cath Bedraud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea goes after Angof to Cath Bedraud in attempt to slay him there - at this point she has nothing to lose in the fight against him.

"Do you know how to ride?" General Virchow asked Linnea. "I don't know...I don't remember if I've learnt to ride," she replied honestly, not even bothering to think whether her answer sounded weird. He was silent for a while, maybe because of her strange reply, but then decided: "Alright. I think it's the best option that we ride with the same horse, then. I'll give you the reins, it's easier that way - I shouldn't use the broken limb for anything, I know. And don't worry, I'll help you out if needed." Then he said to the horseman: "Give us a calm-natured and strong horse that can carry two."

  
It was still evening when they left Camlorn behind and started their journey to Cath Bedraud, the ancient cemetery where they would face Angof the Gravesinger, the leader of the Bloodthorn Cult. The skies were broken; the clouds partially hid the stars and the Moons, and the winds started to strengthen. Fortunately, despite the clouds, the Moons shed enough light and there were some light posts with a candle lit by arcane fire in them along the road so that it was possible to ride in the dark.   
  
They rode in silence; occasionally they cast their compass spells to ensure that they were heading into the right direction. Linnea had been delighted to discover that she knew how to ride - but then she had remembered that it was all the same for her, since she would not need that skill in Coldharbour. She felt extremely cold due to the fever and she tried to warm herself with her spells. She also tried to focus her attention on other things instead of thinking about the coldness; she sensed well the enchantment in General Virchow's gear, since they were sitting so close to each other. She wondered why he had changed his uniform into the dark-coloured armour that had magicka strengthening enchantment in it; certainly he, being a fighter, would have benefitted more of a boost to his stamina or of an enchantment that would have protected from spell damage.  
  
"You wanted us to pause," Linnea said to General Virchow as she stopped the horse and dismounted. "Aye," he replied and got off the horse, too. "You're freezing," he said and offered his winter cloak to her; he had noticed that she had been shivering from cold and how she had been trying to warm herself with her spells. The way she used her magicka trying to keep herself warm reminded him of his younger daughter - they both even had red hair. She did not want to take his cloak and stated: "What does it matter? It won't last long - I won't live long." "But you're feeling cold _now,_ and it does matter," he pointed out and gently put it on her. "If you insist...thank you," she replied and wanted to explain: "I'm feeling cold because I have fever. Normally I understand to put enough clothes on me." "Of course," he replied and asked: "Do you know how much time you have left until...?" "Not exactly but based on a case of lycanthropy I've seen before, at least one or two days, so enough to fight against Angof."

It was almost midnight when they reached the site of Cath Bedraud. The group of Lion Guard soldiers that had gone after Angof had established their base right next to the cemetery; they had built walls to keep the undead risen by Angof from getting away from the graveyard but they had to also take fight against them. For now, they had succeeded in that but there seemed to be no end for the undead invasion.  
  
"Good evening. This is the Lion Guard's camp in an extremely dangerous conflict area. Why are you riding here in the middle of the night?" a soldier keeping watch at the entrance of the encampment asked them as they approached. "Good evening to you, too, soldier. I am General Alexandr Virchow and I would like to have a word with your captain," he replied and showed him his sword that had the Lion Guard symbol and his signature on it. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir - I didn't recognise you first, sir!" the soldier quickly apologised him and allowed them to enter. "That's alright, soldier; I'm not wearing our armour or symbols, moreover, it is dark, so it's no wonder that you didn't know who I am," he said. "Oh, right, I'll get the captain here right away...Is your wife okay?" the soldier asked, having seen Linnea, who looked to him feeling somewhat unwell. "My wife is doing well - she is in Camlorn now, this lady is the hero of Daggerfall and slayer of Faolchu," he replied and explained: "We came here because of Angof."  
  
"I've received reports from here but what's the situation now?" General Virchow asked the captain of the troops. "So far we've managed to hold Angof's army of undead soldiers back but I honestly speaking don't know how long we'll last, sir! We might be able to kill the zombies attacking here but they're revived to fight against us again and again, if we don't get the corpses burnt in time, and we rarely have had enough time for that – and a burning undead rushing around could easily destroy the whole camp! He also rises our fallen soldiers to fight against us, and the troops are very frightened about that, indeed...and I've gotta say that it's damn disturbing in my opinions, too, sir," the captain explained. "Alright. Do you have any information about Angof?" he asked her. "I think he is hiding in the crypt. I've tried to send scouts after him but very few of them have returned - alive. The ones that came back said that the mists in the graveyard, probably created by Angof, make people insane so they had to turn back...that the mist made their comrades lose their minds," she replied to him, sounding distressed, even though she made her best to hide it.  
  
"We have come here to take fight against Angof tonight," General Virchow said to the captain. "Okay, sir! I'll get the troops prepared but...when will the reinforcements arrive, sir?" she replied, being confused, since the General had arrived there alone, apart from the red-haired woman he had brought with him. "No, I’ll go to Cath Bedraud with her, just the two of us," he said, looking at Linnea, and ordered: "First, command the troops to kill as many zombies as possible and then, plan a distraction for the undead, so that we'll get into the graveyard unnoticed." "What in Obliv...I mean, yes, sir!" she replied, not being able to hide her astonishment; she would have wanted to stop her superior from doing something she considered to be totally insane but she was in no position to argue with him, thus she followed his orders.   
  
They succeeded in getting into the cemetery in stealth, so that the undead had not paid any attention to them. Closer to the crypt, they saw the mist; it glowed strangely in the pale moonlight. The cause of it appeared to be the vines that grew near the crypt - even from distance, Linnea recognised them to be similar to the ones she had seen in the forest near Deleyn's Mill, close to the body of the dead Bloodthorn cultist she had found in there. Angof's undead minions had been digging from graves, unearthing several more corpses for their master to resurrect. Moreover, there were bodies of the fallen Lion Guard soldiers near the base. Linnea estimated that if Angof decided to rise them all at once, the Lion Guard troops would probably either get slaughtered or be forced to fall back, and she really wished they understood to choose the latter option.  
  
"Now it is time to start the fight against Angof and his undead army," General Virchow declared, drew his sword - and added: "May Arkay forgive me what I'm about to do next." Linnea noticed that he started to prepare for some kind of a ritual; the strong winds blew his long, red hair, sticking it to his face, as he cast a strange-looking spell onto his sword. "I offer this innocent blood to seal this dark ritual," he said and - before she could have reacted in any way - cut a wound into her arm with his sword. The laceration most likely would not be fatal for her but it was so deep that blood started to stream from it; he gently but firmly took her hand and gestured her not to heal it, so that her blood dropped onto the ground. Then he took his sword, slammed it into the soil and shouted against the wind: "Hear my call! Arise from your eternal rest to serve the living again!"

The ground trembled slightly as the corpses resurrected by him rose, and it started to rain. Water diluted her blood on the ground, and it looked like the Nirn itself was weeping bloody tears. They stood still and silently, close to each other - a templar and a necromancer - and observed as his army of undead awoke. The zombies risen by him turned towards them; it seemed that they bowed slowly to him, to their master. The undead risen by Angof and the ones risen by General Virchow did not interact in any way, since they were not commanded to fight against each other, and Angof's minions did not appear to recognise the other undead as intruders. General Virchow was extremely relieved when he saw that his minions were in his control; he had not practised necromancy for a long time, and he had not cast a spell of such magnitude ever before. In the worst case, if he had failed, he would have created an undead army that would have been determined to kill him. He told her that she should heal her wound, since the ritual was complete.  
  
"You must despise me for what I did and what I am - a necromancer," he stated to her and said in his defence: "I know that this is against all the Gods and certainly agonising for those poor souls that I brought back from Aetherius to fight for us here - but I only do this to slay Angof." "No, I don't despise you. I am just extremely surprised. I had no idea that you are a powerful wizard," she corrected him. "This is my shame and burden - I've done my best to hide it that I've been cursed with this affinity to dark magic," he revealed and continued: "This is the very first time for a long time that I practised necromancy. Last time was when I was still a lieutenant. Our squad was ambushed by the enemy forces, and we fought hard but we were too badly outnumbered. My comrades died and I was the only one of us that was still alive. The enemy soldiers thought that I surrendered but instead I resurrected all the fallen soldiers to fight for me...I can't forget the terrified looks on my enemies’ faces when their fallen comrades started to slaughter them. I was the only one that survived that day, and no one knows how I did it…and I’ll remember for the rest of my days how my comrades changed when I brought them back…how the light of life was missing in their eyes and how agonised they looked. I finally realised that the dark trait of arcane arts I was practising was utterly wrong, and that day I swore to the Gods that I would never use it to win a war - after all, necromancy slowly but certainly corrupts the soul of its user."  
  
"So, now you know my secret and the darkness that lives inside of me - but you don't seem to condemn me or my actions here, even though you're a templar," he wondered. "I don't think I can afford to judge anyone. I think, unlike you, I don't fight to protect other people from evil - what keeps me going isn't willingness to help others but pure anger and my neverending wrath burning inside of me with the fierce of an infernal sun fire," she reckoned and assured him: "Besides, I think you're a good person - and far better than many templars I've met." He was silent for a moment and then replied: "Thank you, I truly appreciate what you said. I've tried to do what's right, despite this...And I'm so happy that my children don't seem to have inherited this curse from me. My son probably thought that I was disappointed when he didn't start to show any affinity to magic but in fact, I was only relieved that I hadn't passed this burden on to him. However, I've started to become very worried about my unborn child, what if..." "Then you teach them what is right and what is wrong and how to deal with their tendency," she said. "If I return to my wife from here - " he pointed out but she said to him: "Just one more reason for you not to get yourself killed now." Then she stated, smiling wickedly: "And I swear, if you die, I'll kill you!"  
  
He commanded his undead army to fight against Angof's zombies, and she joined the battle with her spells. He resurrected the eliminated undead to fight on their side, and eventually they had gathered all of the zombies in the graveyard to their ranks.  
  
"How are you feeling, can you do this? You look more ill than you did before we came here, so has the lycanthropy progressed meanwhile we fought?" he asked her concerned but she explained looking nauseous: "Not so much, it's just the -" " - smell?" he realised, looking at the three deceased Lion Guard soldiers he had assigned to protect her when she had been dispatching the hostile undead. She nodded, and he said: "I never got used to that, either. But worse still, are their hollow eyes and expressionless faces." "Well, the main thing is that they're on our side now," she stated and added: "Let's go to kill Angof before I throw up!"  
  
They walked towards the crypt with his army of undead but then she remembered the things the captain had told about the mist that was surrounding it and asked: "Hey, by the way, what about that fog? How can we reach Angof when it's blocking our way?" "I've seen soldiers getting a nervous breakdown in far less frightening situations than this. I think they didn't lose their minds because of the mists but because they were overwhelmingly terrified by their undead comrades they met there," he assumed, thus they continued walking towards the tomb. However, when they had disappeared into the mists, she noticed that he started to feel exceedingly anxious; when she was about to ask him whether everything was alright, he cried out agonised: "Stendarr's Mercy! The mists...I can't push forward anymore...its darkness is getting inside me - like it's devouring my _soul_ , I can't think clearly anymore!" "Oh by Sheogorath's Madness, then we need to get out of it now, come!" she replied but he objected: "No, I'm lost in here, in this darkness now." "You aren't! I'm dragging you into the bloody light of Arkay or something," she shouted at him, took his hand and literally pulled him out of the fog after her.  
  
"You're okay now?" she asked worried when they had gotten away from the mist, and he had overcome his fright. "Aye - but the captain was right about the fog, it's the reason why our scouts went insane," he answered and asked astonished: "But you weren't taunted by it?" "I didn't notice it affecting me in any way," she replied. "I wonder why," he said, and she shrugged and stated that she had no idea why she was not impacted by the mists.  
  
"So, it's obvious that I'll have to face Angof alone - you can't come with me, that's for sure," she said. "I could try to - oh, damn it, I guess you're right, I can't come with you," he had to admit but he added: "You don't have to go there alone, though." He cut a wound in his own hand with his blade, and then in hers, and performed a ritual. After that he gave her his sword and said, pointing at his legion of undead: "They are yours to command now. The spell lapses when the wielder of this sword - being you now - dies or when I take it away from this sword." She took his blade; it was so heavy for her that she would have to use her both hands to wield it.

"We both know that you'll be dead soon in any case but have you thought about what happens, if you die and Angof lives? He will most likely raise you as his thrall," he warned her. She thought about the matter and then replied: " I don't know very much about necromancy but wouldn't my soul be needed for that - wouldn't he have to use my soul to bind me to his service?" "Yes, why did you ask that?" he wondered. She remained silent for some time and then revealed him: "You told me your secret and now I can tell you mine, as well. He can't raise me as his thrall, because I don't have a soul."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write about a necromancer character a great while ago, before they said that this class is coming to ESO! I also wanted to create a "warden" style character (Jenna), right before they said that they're going to add the warden class into the game!


	25. The Soulless One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea faces Angof - the fate of Glenumbra depends on the result of their duel.

She told him her whole story - what she remembered of it - including the visits to Coldharbour due to the missions of the Prophet and the other remaining members of the Five Companions. She felt it somehow relieving to share her deepest secrets with someone before she would have to leave Nirn _again_ ; it did not matter to her anymore if she would be held insane. She would never have imagined that she would reveal those things to a necromancer - but it did not concern her, since she trusted him and considered him to be on her side in the battle against Molag Bal and the darkness threatening Glenumbra and the whole Tamriel.

  
He appeared to be surprised by what he had found out about her but if he thought that she was out of her mind, he hid it extremely well. He remained silent for some time; then he finally replied her, asking: "You said that those members of the Five Companions, Lyris and that...Prophet live near Daggerfall - where exactly in there?" "Why do you want to know that?" she asked, becoming somewhat reserved. "You assumed that you'll be drawn back into Coldharbour when you die in this world. Lyris and the Prophet saved you once from that plane of Oblivion; maybe, when I tell your friends about your fate, we can rescue you from there again," he explained. "Oh, I never thought about that possibility myself. Maybe they could help me, like we helped Sai Sahan and Abnur Tharn together," she said slightly hopefully and then wondered: "Wait. Did you mean that you'd come to Coldharbour with them?" "You saved my life. I swear I'll do what I can to save yours," he replied. She looked at him and said: "But you have no idea what you're promising - you can't even imagine the horrors of that realm. Besides, I don't know if anyone _truly alive_ can enter there." "We'll find out about that when the time comes," he replied determinedly. "Well...thanks. I really appreciate that," she said and showed him the location of the Harbourage in her map; then she announced, sounding surprisingly confident: "I think it's time for me to face Angof now."  
  
They said their goodbyes, and she disappeared into the mists, leading her army of undead into the battle against Angof the Gravesinger and his minions.  
  
She entered the crypt and commanded her minions to protect her from the hostile zombies there. She also dispatched herself the hostile undead but kept her focus on pushing forward, deeper into the crypt, where she expected to find Angof. It was dark in there, despite her mage light, thus she proceeded with caution, being wary of possible traps.   
  
She stopped as she saw a rune and a magical ward glowing in a chamber's entry, blocking her way in the direction she was heading to; she had anticipated that the leader of the Bloodthorns would have created some protection for himself, in addition to his army of zombies and the mists. She examined it and then commanded one of her undead to enter the room. As it went through the door - nothing happened. She stood still for a moment, considering what to do, and eventually ended up taking the risk and entered the chamber after her zombie; nothing happened to her, either. Probably Angof had not taken into account that someone without a soul or not being truly alive would try to slay him.  
  
She anticipated that the runes were like the mist in the graveyard; they would only affect people who were alive and had their souls. Maybe she was already undead herself, not having her soul, and being halfway to transforming into a werewolf. She sneered to herself; she looked at her pale hands and thought that she most likely also looked like a zombie.    
  
She went through a couple of similar doors protected with such runes; her heart rate increased as she got closer to the main chamber, where she expected to find her nemesis - and to meet her fate in her final battle on Tamriel. She knew that she was close to it already; there would only be one longer tunnel between that room and her. She noticed the candles that had been lit there; the other parts of the crypt, except for the very beginning of it, had been shrouded in darkness. She stopped for a moment, squeezing tight the long sword General Virchow had given her, and stared at the army of undead behind her; most of them were still standing, and they had succeeded in eliminating Angof's zombies that had been on their way.  
  
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly; she walked into the tunnel and entered the main chamber of Cath Bedraud. She saw Angof the Gravesinger, there and anticipated that he had not noticed her appearance yet. Having learnt of the almost fatal mistake she had made when hunting down the necromancer in Daggerfall, she would use the element of surprise as her advantage, not giving Angof a chance to properly defend himself from her first strike. She prepared to cast a massive ball of sunlight on to him - but he had already noticed her presence, since he calmly turned around and said to her: "So, the hero of Glenumbra, _The Soulless One_ , has finally come after me, to kill me, no doubt - and leading my half-brother's army into the battle against me."  
  
"You'll die today," she said, being ready to either cast a protective ward for herself or attack on him with her spells - and, having realised what he had stated, cried out: "How in Oblivion could you possibly know such a thing?" "Well, I doubt there are many talented necromancers in the ranks of the Lion Guard. Who else could it be than _Alexandr Virchow_ that could have been able to create such an army of undead to fight against mine?" he replied. "You're lying, scum! He would've told me about that," she shouted extremely suspiciously to him; if he tried to manipulate her in some way, he would definitely fail in that. "Unless he doesn't know that we're related. I think, having a bastard child with a Reachman necromancer is not something that makes a woman very popular in her village - maybe his mother never told him her little secret, and unlike me, he doesn't know about his half-siblings," he reckoned, and then for some reason continued talking, as if they were not enemies in a war against each other: "My mother didn't care about the opinions of other people, when she ran away with my father, though - she must have really loved him, and father seemed to truly care about her, too. She was always so goodhearted and warm...but she changed, she became so cold and hollow, when father _brought her back_ to us.  
  
"Enough of this nonsense! What are you trying to achieve with that? My pity and mercy? Not going to happen!" she yelled distressed, destructive magic burning in her clenched fist, and asked: "Why aren't you fighting against me?" Perhaps he was trying to buy time for some ritual or assault. "Just look at me! See what I've become - see this terrible undead form I'm trapped in, having become Bal's puppet! This is not what I wanted...even though father would certainly have been proud of me - if I hadn't sacrificed him to Bal in exchange of this cursed power and to finally set mother free," he stated, adding: "I'm a damned zombie now! I won't have any offspring - thus, I don't want to spill the same blood that once ran in my veins." "General Virchow isn't here. It's only you and me against each other now," she said, glaring angrily at him. "I didn't mean him with what I just said, _Miss Frey_ ," he replied.

"You're making up this all, you can't claim that we're related, you can't!" she screamed extremely upset but he continued: "A red-haired lass, a farmer's daughter from Winds Keep - and an alchemist, just like your grandmother was. Could it have been any more obvious that you’re my niece? I should've stopped them, when they sacrificed you to Bal at the Dolmen, I should've asked them to choose someone else instead of my own flesh and blood..."  
  
"It's too late to regret anything now," she said and threw her spells at him - as he did not appear to try to really get rid of her, she yelled upset: "Damn it! You can't spoil my final battle on Nirn! This was supposed to be epic but this is _boooring_ instead!" He started to fight back with his spells - but it appeared to her as if he did not truly intend to harm her. She charged at him frustrated, and finished him off with ease. As he fell, she heard the echoes of his remaining zombies that collapsed onto the ground, as their master had been slain; then she saw his corpse disappearing, as Molag Bal claimed it to Coldharbour.

General Virchow stood under an old tree, leaning his back against its ancient trunk; he hoped that its leafless branches would give him at least a bit shelter against the pouring rain that had just started. He was waiting for her, hoping her to return victoriously from the crypt, having slain Angof. They had left two undead soldiers standing at the graveyard within his sight; if they fell, he would know that she, being their mistress now, had died.   
  
He had had plenty of time to consider what to do, if she could not defeat Angof; it had been now proven that nobody _with a soul or truly alive_ could enter the crypt without losing their mind or life. Therefore, he had come into the conclusion that if she failed, he would have to be the one waging war against Angof - the fate of Glenumbra would ultimately be decided in the duel of two necromancers, then. He feared greatly the reaction of his troops and his family, if he would have to reveal his true nature to them. He also feared for his own soul, if he would have to use necromancy in such a large scale - but it would be the only right thing to do, since it would be their best chance to chase the darkness away from Glenumbra. Even if he lost to Angof, it would buy the Lion Guard significant amount of time; perhaps the Mages Guild would find a solution to the problem concerning the mists and such threats.  
  
He drew the sword she had left him, as he heard the sound of explosions coming from the crypt; then he saw a light - and her walking out of there. "Angof is defeated but I'm still here," she reported him. He rushed to her and exclaimed joyfully: "Oh Gods, congratulations - and thanks! I think you just saved the whole Glenumbra!" "Oh, I guess you're right - I did slay him..." she replied a bit surprised but extremely delighted. For a moment they rejoiced in her success - but then the lycanthropy reminded them of its presence in her, as her nose started to bleed, and she began to cough heavily.  
  
He looked at her distressed and helped her to sit onto a trunk of a fallen tree. For a while they did not say anything, until she broke the silence; "You'll have to do it," she put into words what they both were thinking. "Aye," he replied sadly. She took a small bottle from her pocket, explaining: "This is poison - but there's not enough of it to kill me, it'll put me into sleep so that it's easier to - " She drank the contents of the bottle; the mists created by Angof had dissolved, so they walked into the crypt to wait for the poison - made of nightshade - affect her.  
  
They were silent; neither of them could speak anything in such a dreadful situation. Soon she started to feel drowsy and lay down to the ground. She shivered from cold, thus he put his cloak to her cover. "Thanks," she said faintly and closed her eyes.  
  
She drifted deeper into her dream world, as her conscious started to fade. She opened her eyes for a moment before closing them again and asked him deliriously: "I feel so cold - is there something wrong with me...am I ill, _father_? Is this the plague?" "Don't worry about it, you'll feel better tomorrow," he said to comfort her, trying to hide the agony in his voice. "Good night, see you in the morning again, _father_ ," she said drowsily to him. He was silent for a moment and then said: "Good night. Rest now."  
  
"Oh Gods, I'm so sorry - I'm so sorry for what happened to you," she heard him whispering; she tried to open her eyes once more and saw the flash of the blade through her partially closed lids.


	26. The Voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a breaking point and being the hero doesn't often have a very healthy impact on the psyche.

_"I am a murderer...I killed the hero of Daggerfall, the woman who saved the whole Glenumbra,"_ General Alexandr Virchow thought - even though he knew that she had brought her fate upon herself with her own actions - as he put the sword down, next to her lifeless body.

  
Indeed he was a professional killer for Daggerfall Covenant. He had taken several lives during his military career - but the people that had met their end by his hand had been his enemies. However, killing a friend - the woman who had saved his life and who had been his son's loved one - was an extremely agonising experience for him. He would never forget how she had taken the last glance at him before she had lost her consciousness; the confused and innocent look in her green eyes would haunt him forever.  
  
He stared at his shaking, blood-stained hands; he also shivered from cold, since he had stood out in the pouring rain when he had waited for her to return. _"Oh dear Gods, how am I going to tell my son what happened to her?"_ the unnerving question came to his mind; moreover, he realised that he might also have to inform her parents about her death. He felt even worse, when he started to imagine if he had found out that this had happened to his own daughter.  
  
He slowly stood up; then he looked at her corpse and decided: _"I can't leave you lying there like that."_ He would bury her before he would return to the Lion Guard's camp to get his gear dry, then he would ride back to Camlorn and inform the other leaders of Angof's death. He would later ask a priest of Arkay to perform the proper burial rituals for her, so that no one could desecrate her body.  
  
He walked out of the crypt; it was still raining and the weather was chilly but he would not feel cold soon, since digging the grave would warm him up. First he would just have to find a shovel. He cast his mage light and started to search for one; soon he found what he was looking for. He decided the place for her grave; there seemed to be an empty place close to a large, old tree.

Burying her would take him a rather long time; he could not use his right hand, moreover, as he started to dig, he realised that the soil was still partially frozen, after the long winter. He could have easily taken some soldiers from the camp and ordered them to do the physical work but he did not intend to do so - he would dig the damned hole on the ground himself, even if it would take him the whole night and day, or even an entire week to do that!  
  
"Son of a..." he cursed aloud when the wooden shaft of the shovel, that was apparently partially decayed from the inside, cracked. He threw the pieces of the broken tool angrily towards the fence of the graveyard; the noise the collision caused was accompanied with a couple of more profanities shouted by him. Then he sat onto the ground, catching his breath. The work had been more exhausting than he had expected it to be for him; he was still recovering from his injuries and the operation the healers had performed on him to fix them. Nevertheless, he would soon go searching for another shovel and then continue his work - indeed, he would do this himself, since his pride and stubbornness would not allow him to ask help from anyone now!  
  
_"Damn it! Why did you have to act so recklessly and get yourself killed? I tried to warn you but you didn't listen to me! You should have! And now I'll have to bring the news of your death to my son...didn't you think of him at all, when you acted so stupidly in the battle?"_ he thought angrily of Linnea - and then suddenly heard her voice replying him in his mind: _"What in Oblivion are you thinking? That I died just for fun - and just to get rid of Aleksei? That I wanted any of this to happen to me?"  
  
"This is the price I have to pay for using necromancy, I guess. Hallucinations. Now I've started to hear things...the voices of dead people in my head," _ he reckoned, trying to stay calm; he knew that using dark magic could have its costs. _"You can actually hear me?"_ her voice said sounding somewhat surprised and asked: _"Please, help me!" "My mind is shattering,"_ he thought increasingly anxiously and tried not to let the fear of becoming insane take control of him. _"No, you're not crazy - "_ her voice tried to assure him and started to explain: _"It's really me. Linnea. I'm not Sheogorath, definitely not! His voice would be entirely different from mine, I know that of my own experience, indeed! Of course, that's exactly something that the Mad God would say himself, claiming that he's not him and all that nonsense - oh my, this probably doesn't help you at all...But please, you must help me...to get out of this place!"  
  
"I'll help you. I promised you to rescue you from Coldharbour, remember? But first I must take care of things here on Tamriel. And I'm starting with protecting your body from scavengers and other filthy people!" _ he replied to her voice as he got up and started to search for a shovel. He had first thought that he should probably ignore her voice but on the other hand, he could as well have this conversation with the hallucination in his mind. Certainly, it would not hinder him from finishing his work here - and having an additional voice in his head would not prevent him from leading his troops and continuing his work in the Lion Guard, or from being a good father and husband!  
  
_"That was a very big promise to make, indeed - it's just that...I don't think I'm in Coldharbour now...but wait, you thought about digging something. Why? Oh, no, are you going to - "_ her voice started to sound anxious, thus he tried to pacify it and replied aloud: "I'll bury your corpse, so that no one can dishonour it, and later a priest of Arkay will give the blessing to you. We'll take good care of you," but her voice asked agonised: _"Oh, no, please don't! I don't want to be trapped underground!"_ "We don't want the scavengers to shame your body, right?" he tried to talk sense into her voice but it shouted terrified in his head: _"Just don't bury me, please don't! I'm claustrophobic!"_ "Oh, alright, just please calm down," he requested; her desperate screaming caused him an intense headache.    
  
_"Could you help me to get out of here, please? I'm stuck in this terrible afterlife...I don't think this is the realm of Molag Bal, this is some place else,"_ her voice asked. _"How could I help you, then?"_ he wondered, and her voice requested: _"Could you...bring me back to life? You can resurrect people." "I'm sorry but I can't get you alive again the way you'd wish it to happen. I'm a necromancer. You've seen the army that I raised - none of them was truly alive, you know that yourself, too. Surely you don't want to become an undead like they were, right?"_ he thought. _"Please...anything would be better than this! I feel so cold, and everything is...blue here. I feel like I'm pulled to Aetherius and Coldharbour and every other place, it's agonising! And I'm forced to watch my own body and the place where it is, gods only know how long, maybe until it decays or even for all eternity!"_ her voice asked him anxiously. "I don't know if I could even raise you, because you don't have your soul. And you do realise that even if I succeeded, you'd most likely wake up as my thrall?" he replied aloud. _"Whatever! I wouldn't mind being your servant for the rest of your life - just try it, please!"_ her voice requested desperately. "Oh, alright, then. Please, could you - remain silent for some time? I need to focus on this, and it's kind of a bit difficult, if I can't be the only one thinking in my head," he said.  
  
"At least you don't have rigor mortis yet, which is a good thing," he said when he had examined her corpse to determine what to do with her. He looked at her slightly confused; she did not show any signs of life and yet, it rather seemed as if she was only resting peacefully than that she really would be dead. He prepared for the attempt to bring her back to life. He would have to improvise, and he did not quite know what he would have to do; she had told him that she lacked her soul, moreover, he considered that this would be the first time he would try to raise anyone who voluntarily wanted to come back to life.  
  
He kneeled beside her, took a filled soul gem from his pocket and placed it on her corpse. Then he pressed his hand against her chest - hoping for the best, even though he had an unnerving feeling that what he was about to do could doom them both - and focused all magicka he had on the spell that was supposed to bring her back to life. The soul gem shattered into pieces but after he had cast the spell that had drained all his magicka - and perhaps a small amount of his own life force, too - she still did not show any signs of life. He was about to give up and thought: _"I...failed...and yet, I'm not sure if I even wanted to succeed in this. Maybe this is for the best, indeed...for both of us...that I couldn't bring you back - and, at least I tried."_  
  
"But I think that you are bringing me back - it feels like I really am settling back into my body," her voice replied him. "Really?" he wondered. He looked at her corpse and noticed now that the skin of her neck was intact - he did not know when the fatal wound had disappeared but it was not there anymore.

"Sorry but I don't feel the pulse," he said apologetically but her voice pointed out: _"You don't? Because I think my heart just started beating again!"_ He pressed his head against her chest to find out whether that was true - and he heard her heart beating rapidly but steadily, indeed. On the other hand, he could not know whether that was only a hallucination, like her voice that was speaking with him.  
  
"Your hands are still ice-cold," he said, obviously considering it as a malign sign but her voice replied: _"It's damn chilly in here, so of course they're cold! They would be, even if I had been alive the whole time you've spent here. My hands are always that cold in the wintertime!"_ Then her voice stated, sounding somewhat frustrated: _"Heaven's sake, you still don't believe that you succeeded - but soon I'll show you that I'm alive, damn it!"_ Then she finally opened her eyes and vigorously gasped for air, as if she had been about to drown.  
  
He got startled by that first; he stared at her for a moment and eventually said: "By the Eight! You're...back." She stared at him confused for a while; she looked around her and at her own body and then finally replied silently: "Yes...I am." She then smiled faintly and added: "Like I told you!" He smiled back at her and asked: "Do you feel any different?" She shook her head, and he asked: "What are you going to do now that you're alive again?" She still looked slightly confused and replied a bit nervously: "I - I don't know. I think I still have the disease in me. I don't know what I should do." Her next words frightened him greatly, and he became seemingly concerned as she said to him: "Maybe you should tell me what to do, sir."  
  
"So, you - you mean that you'd carry out my orders, whatever I ask you to do?" he asked appalled, and she replied: "I think it would be for the best, since I have no clue what I should do. I didn't expect this to happen to me." He looked shocked - but then asked her with a blank expression: "Okay, let's find out if that is true, then. Take all your clothes off."  
  
"No way, not going to happen! What in Oblivion are you planning?" she cried out upset as she got up and backed out from him, glaring at him murderously. "Oh, thank the Divines," he said, being extremely relieved due to her reaction, and explained: "You seem to have your own will. For a moment I was already afraid that you'd be my thrall, therefore being bound to obey my commands." "Oh, well, I'm definitely not your thrall!" she replied. "I'm very grateful for that, indeed - having you as my thrall would have been most unfortunate for both of us, don't you think?" he stated. She agreed on that and then asked somewhat reserved: "What if I had been...bound to your service. If I had carried out your order, then would you have, well, you know..." "Heaven's sake! No, of course not!" he exclaimed shocked, and, having realised how she had misunderstood the situation, quickly explained: "I figured out that the last thing you'd be willing to do    would be to take your clothes off - you had been shivering from cold already with them on, remember?" "Oh, right - of course. That makes sense, indeed," she said, feeling extremely awkward.  
  
"When you were - dead - I guess, I kind of heard you speaking, so I wonder...were you really in my..." he tried to ask her, feeling uneasy. "In your mind? Yes, I think so. At least you appeared to hear what I said to you - and I could hear your thoughts, too," she replied, being as puzzled as he was about what had happened to them. Then she quickly added to comfort him: "But don't worry, I didn't encounter anything too unnerving or embarrassing," and smiled a bit.  
  
They went out of the crypt together; the rain had stopped, and the new day was dawning. They were both feeling cold, thus they gathered some wooden debris they found in the graveyard, and she created a warming fire of them.

As they were sitting in silence, warming themselves at the fire, she started to shiver again. The sickness had not left her; along with the life, it had also settled back to her body. "I'm still ill, not even the death purified my body from the lycanthropy," she said to him, sounding desperate, and asked: "What should we do now?" "I - I honestly speaking don't know," he said and sighed; he rarely could admit that in his position. "So, considering the rules, do you think that you’ll have to - " she asked him but he interrupted her: "No, I won't kill you again! Neither of us wants to experience it again what just happened." "Besides, no rule says that we have to eliminate the infected soldiers _twice_ ," he added, mainly to assure himself that he would not even break the rules he demanded his own troops to follow.  
  
"Everything in you is unusual. You lack your soul, and yet I could raise you - and when you came back to life, I did not possess you. What I'm trying to say with this is that maybe you'll react to the contagion abnormally, too - maybe you'll be able to control your behaviour, even if you turn into a...werewolf?" he assumed slightly hopefully and suggested: "There are uninhabited hills and woods in the North of here. Maybe you should go to live in there - as far from the settlements as possible." She considered that for a moment and then replied: "I think that is the best option I have now, indeed."  
  
"Please, don't tell your son what happened here. I - I don't want him to find out about my fate," she said. "Very well. But what should I say to him, then?" he asked. "I don't know! Maybe that I just went missing in action or something?" she suggested. "Are you sure you'd like me to say that to him?" he asked terrified and then explained her sadly: "I've had to deliver the messages about the missing and dead soldiers to their families, and I’ve also seen what that information means to their loved ones. I think that a soldier going missing is even worse for them than to instantly find out that they're dead...first having the hope lingering but when it slowly but certainly starts to fade..." "Alright, alright, not that then! Could you just say that there's no hope of finding me alive anymore - and no chance that I could be rescued from Coldharbour? He knows about my lost soul, too. I - I just don't want him to find out that I'll turn into a..." she asked anxiously. "If that is your will, I'll respect it," he promised to her with a serious tone.  
  
When the warming fire started to die down, she reckoned it to be time for her to leave. He insisted on that she should keep his cloak - despite feeling still cold himself - pointing out: "You'll need it more than I do. I can easily get warming gear from the base nearby." "Well, thanks," she replied shortly. She had to use all her willpower not to let her emotions overcome her, while saying: "Could you - tell your son that I love him and - I - I always will." "Yes, I'll let him know that," he replied; he could not look at her, since also he had to struggle not to let his emotions show. "Once again, thank you for everything you have done," he eventually managed to say and promised her: "If I ever find out about a cure, I'll let you know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one more chapter to come after this, and I've also written additional chapters to the story that describe the characters' lives some years after what happens in this story. I have some ideas how I'd write this story further but I'm not sure yet if I'll actually continue writing this.


	27. The Pendant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linnea feels like her transformation starts drawing near.
> 
> This is the last chapter of the story. I have planned to write it further but I'm not sure yet if I'll do it (would you be interested in reading more if I continued writing this, by the way?). I have also written four additional chapters to this story, they describe the characters' lives some years after what happened in this last chapter. I'm going to post them here, probably under the title "Additional Chapters to Mirage".

Linnea kept pushing forward, intending to go to North, as far from the settlements as possible, like she had promised to General Virchow. Her muscles were aching and the fever made her feel dizzy and weak. She was shivering from cold and every breath she took hurt her sore throat and ached in her lungs. She had not eaten or drunk anything for a great while; she had totally lost her appetite but she wished she had understood to take something to drink with her to this journey.  
  
The bright sunlight made her head hurt. She had lost track of time and she did not know how long she had been wandering but she was certain that the transition would take place soon, thus she forced herself to keep on walking, despite her exhaustion.  
_  
"I didn't mean him with what I just said, Miss Frey..."  
  
"...A red-haired lass, a farmer's daughter from Winds Keep - and an alchemist, just like your grandmother was. Could it have been any more obvious that you’re my niece?" _  
  
She heard the sentences Angof had spoken to her before their battle echoing in her head; he had appeared to know about her past of which she did not remember anything herself. In other circumstances she would probably have clung to those words - the only thing she had found out about her past so far - but now that information felt rather irrelevant to her. She felt like she had already started to lose the sense of herself - as if the beast would already be lurking there, in the corner of her mind, being ready to invade it and take control of her as soon as the night would fall and the Moons would rise.  
  
She felt the necklace Aleksei had given him as the Heart's Day gift trembling on her chest at the pace of her pounding heart. She gently touched the pendant; she was quite certain that its chain would break during her transformation - but on the other hand, so would probably her clothes, so it would not help to put it into her pocket, thus she decided to wear it as long as she could.  
  
Then she saw a strange light in the woods at the corner of her eye. She turned to look there and recognised the source of it - it was the very same light that had led her into the right direction in the dark, cold sea, when she had struggled to reach the surface and that had showed her the torches with which she had lit the fire that had burnt Faolchu to his death.  
  
She decided to walk towards the strange light. When she approached it, it started to float away from her, thus she began to follow it. Soon she noticed that it had led her into a small, lush groove, and there was a spring in the middle of it - she felt extremely grateful for the fresh water that moistened her sore, dry throat and satisfied her thirst.   
  
When she had finished drinking, she sat down onto a fallen, decaying tree; she would only rest for a while, before she would continue her journey to North, deeper into the wilderness...  
  
She was awoken by a voice of an old lady who said to her: "Oh, dear child, you're ill!" Linnea quickly tried to stand up but due to her dizziness failed in that. She took a look around and noticed that it was early evening already; the shadows were lengthening and the sun had already reached the western sky. Then she paid attention to the woman: she looked old and fragile and she was smiling gently to her. "Who are you and why are you here?" she asked her and began to cough.  
  
"Oh, my name is Aurelie Selerose - I am a healer. I've treated so many men and mer for several decades...I've seen all kinds of things during these years, indeed, so don't worry child...I was summoned to this shrine today, oh, and you seem to be the one that needs my help!" the woman explained her and pointed at a small, moss-covered shrine that Linnea had not noticed until now. She looked at her respectfully; the years seemed to have treated her kindly and her wrinkles brought dignity to her friendly face. "Now, what is your name, dear child?" she asked her.  
  
"Linnea. And I'm a healer, too - we're colleagues," she said faintly and asked: "Do you know what's wrong with me? Can you cure me?" The woman smiled at her and replied: "Of course I notice a case of lycanthropy when I see one! You are still in the prodromal stage, so I can help you, dear...what was your name by the way?" "Linnea," she said. "Linnea, right...sorry, my memory isn't as good anymore as it used to be," she replied apologetically. "No worries," she replied and said to herself: "Mine doesn't seem to be, either..."  
  
"So, could you cure me? Please, I need help...before I turn into a..." Linnea requested her desperately. "No, I can't cure you - you are the only one that can help yourself - but I'll tell you what to do," the woman said to her; she took something from a pocket of her robes and gave it to her, explaining: "Take this and place it to the altar. Then you can ask for the cure." "Very well, then - thank you," Linnea replied her confused. "You're most welcome, dear, helping people is my work," the old lady said to her; then she added, appearing to be in haste: "But now I must go back to the village - my small children must be waiting for me to come back home!" She appeared startled and somewhat lost - but then she determinedly said to her: "Goodbye now..." "Linnea," she politely told her name again. "...Goodbye, Linnea. You're on your own now. No one can save you except for yourself, remember that!" she continued and started walking into the woods.  
  
Linnea examined the white, round-shaped object the old lady had given her. It appeared to contain some kind of magic in it; she could sense that its magic was not dark of its nature, at least not in her opinions. She wondered what its purpose would be; the old lady had asked her to place it onto the altar and _ask for the cure_. She also thought about the old lady herself, who had mysteriously appeared from the woods. She was astonished that the woman had mentioned her _small children_ being waiting for her in her village. She could not possibly have small children at that age; then Linnea eventually understood that the old lady's memory was probably fading and mind scattering, like she knew that could happen to older people, if they lived long enough. Then she also realised something unnerving: the old lady had told her that she would return to her village but she had walked into totally wrong direction. Where she had headed, there would only be wilderness and eventually an ocean, there - the only settlement nearby - Crosswych - would be in the opposite direction.   
  
Linnea thought about going after her but she felt that her own time was running out; the sun was already setting and soon the Moons would rise. She thought she already felt her blood kind of _boiling_ inside of her veins due to the sickness, and she herself noticed that she might be slightly delirious due to the high fever. Moreover, being so very ill and weak herself, she doubted she would even have the strength to go after her; even standing without leaning to something required her considerable amount of effort. And, indeed, it would be for the best that she would focus on attempting to cure herself, instead of trying to help the old lady; even if she went after her and succeeded in finding her in the woods, she would probably turn into a werewolf in her company, and that would have gruesome consequences. _"Maybe she'll make it safely back to her village...or maybe someone else finds her in time - I'm sure that she'll be totally fine, Crosswych isn't that far from here,"_ she thought incoherently to herself.   
  
She staggered to the old-looking altar. There was some kind of pedestal on it, and she - after a moment of hesitation - ended up placing the artefact the old lady had given her onto it. As soon as it had touched the pedestal, it started to radiate bright light around it - despite that the bright sunlight earlier in the day had hurt her eyes and head, the light this artefact shed, did not cause her any pain.  
  
_"You have approached my light, mortal! Speak to me and I will listen,"_ a voice echoing in her head promised her; she recognised it being the same person - or entity - that had advised her to use the torches to lit the flame that had killed Faolchu.  
  
"I'm sick...could you...cure me?" she asked confused; the old lady had advised her to ask for a cure but she had not been very convinced that someone or something would actually answer to her desperate requests.  
  
_"The darkness lurking in you has not yet corrupted your body entirely,"_ the voice that filled her mind said and declared: _"I will draw the beast from you and destroy it!"_ _"Come forth, wolf!"_ the voice shouted in her head, making her fall onto the ground, holding her head in agony due to the intense experience. Then she screamed in pain; it felt as if her whole body was on fire.  
  
When she opened her eyes again, she saw a lucid figure of a woman, who was fighting against an ethereal wolf. The long sword the woman wielded emitted the same bright light that had been lit to the altar; in its cross-guard, there was the same strange star that had appeared to Linnea and guided her, when she had not known what to do.  
  
She observed confused this delirious hypnagogia for a moment and then asked faintly: "Is that you...mother?" The woman did not pay any attention to her but focused on the battle instead, and soon the wolf fell to her blade, and it vanished into the thin air. _"Begone, foul beast!"_ the voice echoed in her head; the light that the sword emitted became brighter and brighter until it filled her mind entirely.  
  
When Linnea regained her consciousness, the new day had already dawned; the gentle sunlight woke her up and warmed her. She felt so much better; her fever was gone, and she felt healthy - even though still weak - again. She slowly got up and gazed around; she noticed that she was in the same place where she had wandered last evening. She rolled up her sleeve and looked at the area where Faolchu had bitten her. The wound was gone and the skin was intact. She did not find any signs of the lycanthropy infection in her anymore.   
  
She distantly remembered the strange, delirious visions that she had had last night and felt confused about how real they had felt to her back then. She wondered whether she had really been cured in some mysterious way or if she had transformed into a werewolf but temporarily returned to a human form, until the Moons would rise in their appropriate position again and awake the beast in her.  
  
Then she instinctively touched her chest - and felt that the necklace was still hanging there intact.


End file.
